Crown Princess Kiko attended a charity concert on Monday aimed at supporting patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, a state-designated intractable disease, as well as their families.
The concert, held at Toppan Hall in Tokyo＊s Bunkyo Ward, was hosted by an association of patients partly to help people deepen understanding of the disease, which causes inflammation in nerves of the eye and the spinal cord.
Crown Princess Kiko was seen wiping away tears with a handkerchief after soprano singer Mamiko Sakaida, 47, a patient with the disease, finished singing Mariya Takeuchi＊s ※Inochi no Uta§ (※Song of Life※). The crown Princess and Sakaida are acquainted with each other.
After the concert, she talked with participants and said, ※I had a very moving time.§
In May 2025, Crown Princess Kiko visited an event related to intractable diseases at the Osaka Expo and had an opportunity to talk with Sakaida.
The crown princess attended a similar charity concert in Tokyo in July last year.
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