Princess Aiko, Daughter of Emperor, Empress, to Work for Japanese Red Cross Society from April (Update 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:49 JST, January 22, 2024 (updated at 13:00 JST, January 23)

Princess Aiko, the daughter of the Emperor and Empress, has received a job offer from the Japanese Red Cross Society. She is set to start April 1, after graduating from Gakushuin University, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday.

The princess, 22, a senior at the Gakushuin University Faculty of Literature, will work as a contract employee at the Tokyo head office of the JRCS, which has the Empress as its honorary president.

Princess Aiko has become interested in welfare work in general through her close observation of the activities of her parents and classes she took on welfare at university, according to her aides.

In May, she and her parents were briefed on the activities of the JRCS. In October, she visited the headquarters of the medical organization with her parents to see an exhibition on the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.

Based on these experiences, she deepened her understanding of the history, activities and roles of the JRCS and hopes to contribute to society, the aides said, citing reasons for the princess to want to work for the JRCS. Her role within the JRCS and other details are yet to be determined.

“I hope to be of service to people and society, even to a small extent, by working hard with the awareness of being a member of society,” Princess Aiko said via the Imperial Household Agency.

The Emperor and Empress also expressed their gratitude for the job offer, saying though the agency, “We are grateful for it. We hope she will grow as a member of society.”