The Administration of the Imperial Court of Japan intends to abandon the traditional greeting of the monarch on the occasion of his birthday, Kyodo reported on Monday.

The events are expected to be cancelled amid the spread of a new coronavirus, TASS reported.

Emperor Naruhito turns 60 on February 23. The monarch and his family members go to a special armored balcony in a palace in central Tokyo to greet the assembled inhabitants of the country. Several tens of thousands of people usually gather for such events. 

The total number of people infected with the new coronavirus in Japan is currently 415. Most of them are passengers and crew of the American Diamond Princess cruise ship, which is quarantined in the port of the Japanese city of Yokohama.

Naruhito ascended the throne on May 1 last year. He graduated from Tokyo’s Gakushuin University and Oxford. The wife of the new emperor, Masako, 55, the daughter of a famous diplomat in Japan made a successful career in the country's MFA.