Emperor hopes 2020 will be disaster-free year

Climate change, praying isn't going to fix it.

Good pic. Nice to see them (mostly) smiling.

Musta been weird for the emperor and empress emeritus to be shoved off to the side.

Pegboard. Where is the great sense of Japanese design that shows the world the beauty of Japan. It is not in pegboard. Come on, the Kunaicho is usually so sensitive to every little nuance of their Imperials...why not this?

Where is the Supreme Leader Abe and just a missing gap?

Couldn't they find a better backdrop that that cheap soundproofing corkboard which we used to have in our classrooms in the 70's?

Beautiful harmony is the need of the hour worldwide. Thus wrote Mahatma Gandhi: "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony".

I would also like to hope for a year with neither natural nor man-made disasters, but reality is that there WILL BE natural disasters. Humans being human guarantee man-made disasters such as aircraft crashes.

haahha. Pray for no natural disasters? In Japan? Dream on!

Why are all official photos of the imperial family always taken in what looks like the waiting room of a suburban dental clinic?

Have to agree with the comments above regarding the unimpressive backdrop. I have seen better in village halls!

Any info on who painted the (nihonga?) picture hung on the drab pegboard? Any story behind the choice?

Emperor hopes 2020 will be disaster-free year

Why would he hope for anything else? Have he ever hoped for anything else previous years? will he ever hope for disasters in the future?

Happy New Year Emperor, Empress and royal family.

Patricia YarrowJan. 1 09:17 pm JSThaahha. Pray for no natural disasters? In Japan? Dream on!

Too late. A minor earthquake and a volcano alert in effect. Wishful thinking.