Crown Princess Masako's maternal grandmother, Suzuko Egashira, died Friday at a hospital in the city of Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, the Imperial Household Agency said. She was 88.
Crown Princess Masako visited Egashira at the home of the princess' family in Tokyo's Meguro Ward in October, the agency said.
She is survived by her husband, Yutaka Egashira, 96, a former chairman of chemical maker Chisso Corp.
The agency did not announce the cause of her death.
Kyodo News