Prince Katsura - Public Service

Public Service

In 1982, the Prince returned to Australia as part of the Japanese delegation in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Australia-Japan Society. He also visited New Zealand to strengthen ties and friendly diplomatic relations.

Prince Katsura has been paralyzed from the waist down since suffering a series of strokes in May 1988, and uses a wheelchair. Despite his disability, he takes an active role in public service, and appears regularly at award ceremonies, diplomatic events, and as President of various charity organizations.

In 1994, he visited Australia together with Princess Tomohito of Mikasa for a charity event for children with hearing or sight disabilities.

In July 1997, Prince Katsura again visited Australia, to help promote an exhibition of the traditional sport of sumo, with exhibition matches held in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Prince is not married.

Read more about this topic:  Prince Katsura

Famous quotes containing the words public and/or service:

    Fact is Our Lord knew all about the power of money: He gave capitalism a tiny niche in His scheme of things, He gave it a chance, He even provided a first instalment of funds. Can you beat that? It’s so magnificent. God despises nothing. After all, if the deal had come off, Judas would probably have endowed sanatoriums, hospitals, public libraries or laboratories.
    Georges Bernanos (1888–1948)

    For those parents from lower-class and minority communities ... [who] have had minimal experience in negotiating dominant, external institutions or have had negative and hostile contact with social service agencies, their initial approaches to the school are often overwhelming and difficult. Not only does the school feel like an alien environment with incomprehensible norms and structures, but the families often do not feel entitled to make demands or force disagreements.
    Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)