Intruder Arrested After Breaking Into Palace of Japanese Emperor

Intruder Arrested After Breaking Into Palace of Japanese Emperor

The intruder spent two hours in Akasaka Palace, the lavish Tokyo residence of Japan's royal family - Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

JAPANESE police have arrested a man who allegedly spent two hours in the palace complex of the country’s Emperor Naruhito.

The 29-year old man reportedly snuck into the heavily guarded Akasaka Palace, the Tokyo residence of Japan’s royal family, via a guesthouse located adjacent to the complex.

He reportedly spent two hours in the palace before being spotted and detained by Japan’s Imperial Guard near the chambers of Princess Yuriko, the elderly great-aunt of reigning Emperor Naruhito.

According to AFP, police say the man claimed he had made the daring intrusion with the hope of meeting members of Japan’s royal family. Nobody was injured in the incident, which is not the first time the country’s tight royal security has been breached.

In May 2020, a Japanese man daringly swam across the Imperial Palace’s moat to scale an outer wall and enter parts of the grounds forbidden from public before being arrested. Both Japanese and foreign nationals have been held after swimming across the moat over the years, including a British citizen who did so naked.

Emperor Naruhito assumed the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019 after his father abdicated. He and his wife, Empress Masako, gave their traditional New Year’s greeting on Friday by video message for the first time due to Japan’s ongoing battle with its third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.


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Oisin Sweeney

Oisin is an Irish writer based in Seville, the sunny capital of Andalucia. After starting his working life as a bookseller, he moved into journalism and cut his teeth as a reporter at one of Ireland's biggest news websites. Since joining Euro Weekly News in November, he has enjoyed covering the latest stories from Seville, Spain and further afield - with special interests in crime, cybersecurity, and European politics. Anyone who can pronounce his name first try gets a free cerveza...

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