Japan's royal family makes Instagram debut with bonsai trees and a royal birthday
A post shared by 宮内庁/ Imperial Household Agency (@kunaicho_jp) A video of Naruhito addressing well-wishers during his February 23 birthday celebrations garnered over 21,000 views in less than a day. A post shared by 宮内庁/ Imperial Household Agency (@kunaicho_jp) By Monday evening, their verified account Kunaicho_jp had more than 322,000 followers. A post shared by 宮内庁/ Imperial Household Agency (@kunaicho_jp) So far, the images posted are formally staged photos and videos of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako carrying out royal duties at recent public appearances.
The posts do not include private or candid moments. The IHA further said it was considering adding activities of other royal members. The royal account Kunaicho_jp doesn't follow anyone nor interact with the public.
The Users can only press the “like" button and no comments on posts are allowed. “It's nice we get to see a bit of their activities because we hardly know what they are doing," AP quoted Koki Yoneura, a 21-year-old student. “It's good that they seem to be a bit closer to us." Yukino Yoshiura, also a student, said she was excited to see more posts about Princess Aiko.
“Aiko-sama is close to our age and just graduated from university, so I’m very happy to be able to see her images," she said while calling the princess with the respectful honorific “sama." Naruhito’s father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito — who abdicated the throne in 2019 — and his wife were popular during their time. But currently, the royal family's fans largely belong to older generations. The agency had become cautious after the Emperor’s niece Mako Komuro and her commoner husband faced a severe backlash on social media and in tabloids following concerns over her mother-in-law's
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