A guard in front of one of the entrances of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. (archives) – CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
A man of 29 years was arrested after presumably illegally entering the residence of the Emperor Naruhito at Tokyo , where he would have spent two hours before being discovered, Japanese . The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, entered this imperial complex in the Akasaka district of central Tokyo on Saturday evening, passing through an adjacent guesthouse, reports Fuji News Network (FNN) .
He was arrested after two hours by the Imperial Guard near the residence of Princess Yuriko, the great-aunt of
Naruhito aged 29 years, continues the channel, citing police sources. FNN claims that this man passed through the main entrance of this guest house which was not guarded. This intrusion was also reported by TBS news, which claims that the suspect allegedly told the police that he intended to “meet members of the imperial family”.
Not a first, far from it
We it is not known whether this man was in fact in contact with them. But the media assure that no one was injured in this incident. Local police declined to comment, and the Imperial Household Agency was not immediately reachable. Naruhito ascended the throne in 2019 after the abdication of his father. This intrusion is far from a first. In May 2019, a Japanese man was arrested for entering the gardens of the Tokyo Imperial Palace after swimming through the moat and then climbing the perimeter wall.
In 2013, two British tourists were arrested in their underwear, after swimming across the moat to reach the perimeter wall, according to the Japanese Kyodo news agency . A year earlier, a Japanese man had been discovered, also in his underwear, in the palace gardens. He had explained to the police that he had swam again through the moat and wanted to meet the Emperor. In 2008, another Briton had been arrested while swimming naked in the moat of the palace and had attempted to climb the perimeter wall in plain sight. He had also fought with the police officers who were trying to arrest him. 20210103