TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s emperor is generally treated with hushed reverence, but one man stripped away all decorum — quite literally — during a New Year’s event on Friday, local media reported.

Emperor Naruhito had finished his 2026 greeting from a balcony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo when the man in the front row in the gardens below removed his clothes, according to the reports.

He climbed over a barrier and was immediately restrained by officers from the imperial guard and Tokyo police who wrapped him in a blanket and led him away.

Investigative sources told broadcaster TBS that the man in his 20s, who was not named, had announced on social media his intention to strip naked at the annual address.