Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, visited Aomori Prefecture in northeastern Japan on Monday to observe the National Sports Festival.Before a quarterfinal in the adult men's rubber-ball baseball competition, local elementary school children took part in a ceremonial first pitch as the princess applauded. The sport originated in Japan more than a century ago.The princess was quoted by an official as saying that it was her first time watching rubber-ball baseball, asking questions such as, "What kind of ball is used?" and "Are there home runs?"Later in the day…READ FULL ARTICLE