05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Japan Imperial Household Agency's Instagram followers hit 2 mil.; more young viewers sought
TOKYO -- The official Instagram account of the Imperial Household Agency reached 2 million followers on the morning of July 3, with public interest remaining high more than a year after its launch in April 2024.
However, growth among younger followers has been sluggish. The agency stated, "We want to keep trying different approaches to find what resonates with the younger generation."
The Instagram account was launched to raise awareness about the activities of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. Initially, there was a time lag between their activities and posts, but now the agency aims to be timelier and is posting like a news flash.
While private moments, such as off-duty photos of bamboo shoot digging, tend to receive more "likes," when looking at the number of views on "reels" (short videos), it appears that official activities are also drawing attention.
As of the account's first anniversary, the most-viewed reel was footage of the Imperial Couple watching a volleyball match with Japan Volleyball Association President Shunichi Kawai at the Japan Games in Saga Prefecture, with about 5.5 million views. A tea party with recipients of the Order of Culture was also popular, with about 3.3 million views. The latter event was also attended by the Imperial Couple's only daughter Princess Aiko, as well as Crown Prince Akishino (Fumihito) and his wife Crown Princess Kiko and their daughter Princess Kako.
One reason the agency began using social media for public relations was to increase interest in the Imperial Family among younger generations. At the one-year operation mark, only 16.1% of followers were in the younger age group between 13-34 years old, down from 17.3% at the six-month mark. Women accounted for 66.8% of all followers.
A senior agency official commented, "We need to consider whether the interest of those who were attracted by the novelty will continue in the future. As we enter the second year, how and what we communicate as our message is important."
For fiscal 2025, the agency allocated about 27 million yen (roughly $187,000) to enhance public relations, a significant increase from about 2.6 million yen (approx. $18,000) the previous fiscal year. The budget will be apparently used to outsource video production, seek expert advice and strengthen the agency's PR structure. The agency is also considering ways to more broadly introduce the activities of the Imperial Family branches, not just the Emperor and Empress.
The agency also has a policy of following back foreign royal families upon request, and as of the end of June, it had mutual follows with the royal families of the Netherlands (about 990,000 followers), Luxembourg (roughly 100,000), Spain (approx. 890,000), the United Kingdom (some 13.2 million) and Sweden (about 720,000).
The mutual follow with the Swedish royal family was prompted by King Carl XVI Gustaf's visit to Japan to attend Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai in May, during which he dined with the Emperor and his family at the Imperial Palace.
