Japan emperor's New Year's event may be canceled due to pandemic

The Imperial Household Agency is considering suspending Emperor Naruhito's annual New Year's event at the Imperial Palace due to mounting fears about a new wave of coronavirus infections, an agency source said Monday.If realized, it would be the first time the event has been canceled since 1990 when the country was mourning the death the previous year of Emperor Hirohito, grandfather of the current emperor.The development came as the number of daily novel coronavirus cases in Japan reached a record high of around 1,700 in recent days.The agency also nixed the emperor's birthday address days…READ FULL ARTICLE