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The Times of India
The Times of India
World
TOI World Desk

In 1960, Chicago gave Japan’s future emperor 18 bluegill as a friendship gift, and their descendants spread in Japan and reached an estimated 25 million in Lake Biwa

Japan Akihito Fish Chicago Richard J Daley Environment

When Crown Prince Akihito visited Chicago in October 1960, his sole request was to visit the city's Shedd Aquarium. The 26-year-old heir to the Japanese throne was already a serious student of fish biology, and the aquarium stop was less a photo opportunity than a genuine passion project. Then-Mayor Richard J. Daley, an avid angler himself, marked the occasion by scooping 18 bluegills, the official state fish of Illinois, from one of the aquarium’s tanks with a net.

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