Crown Princess Masako has resumed her official following the birth of her daughter, Princess Aiko, in December and attended an award ceremony for a youth book-report contest in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward with her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito.
The Crown Prince delivered a speech at the Friday event, which was sponsored by the Japan School Library Association, saying that he and his wife had read one of the subject books in the contest -- a story about babies -- and that the book was interesting as they were "freshmen" parents.
Princess Masako, in red suit, also attended a party after the ceremony and talked with the prize winners.
When Shu Kobayashi, a fourth-year student at Chuo Elementary School in the town of Tamamura, Gunma Prefecture, offered his best wishes for the newborn baby, Crown Princess Masako said with a smile "Thank you. Do you like babies?"
Children who talked to the princess said they felt she was a gentle mother.
After giving birth Dec. 1, Crown Princess Masako skipped New Year's events, including annual public greetings by the Imperial family and a poetry-reading ceremony, to rest and concentrate on caring for her baby.