The Imperial family sat on the balcony of the VIP room. Throughout the World Baseball Championship (WBC) game, they watched intently, listened to explanations from Hideki Kuriyama – the former coach who led the Japanese team to victory in the previous WBC tournament – ​​and gave many rounds of applause to the players of both teams.

This is the first time Princess Aiko has personally attended a WBC game,  although she previously attended a professional baseball game with her parents at Jingu Stadium in Tokyo in 2009. As for the Emperor and Empress, they previously attended WBC games at Tokyo Dome in 2006 and 2009 when they were still Crown Prince and Crown Princess.

The Japanese Imperial Family are sports enthusiasts and had previously watched the previous WBC final on television. According to their aides, the Emperor was delighted with his team's victory after a 14-year wait, and praised the fighting spirit of both the Japanese and American players.

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is the world's most prestigious international baseball tournament, co-organized by the World Baseball & Softball Federation (WBSC) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Japan is a major force in the sport and the most successful nation in WBC history, with their most recent championship win coming in 2023.

Princess Aiko (born in 2001) is the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. Despite her popularity with the public, under current Japanese Imperial Law, she is not in the line of succession due to her gender. Princess Aiko graduated from Gakushuin University and currently works for the Japanese Red Cross.