Japan Crown Prince Akishino Turns 59, Says Necessary for Female Imperial Members’ Opinions About Proposed Change to System to Be Heard

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:31 JST, November 30, 2024

Crown Prince Akishino, who turned 59 on Saturday, has said it is necessary to hear the opinions of female Imperial members concerning the proposal in the Diet to have them retain their Imperial status after marrying commoners.

On Monday, he held a press conference at the East residence in the Moto-Akasaka of Minato Ward, Tokyo, and touched upon the proposal. “Some in the Imperial Household Agency who are in responsible positions need to learn the [female Imperial members’] opinions about this,” he said.

In May, the ruling and opposing parties began discussing a stable line of succession to the throne.

An interim report compiled by the ruling and opposition parties was submitted to then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in September. The report stated that “a consensus has been reached in general” on the need for female members to retain their Imperial status after marriage to commoners to ensure a sufficient number of members.

Crown Prince Akishino said he would not comment on the issue because it is related to the Imperial household system. Then he said: “The members of the Imperial family are real life people. The people in suitable positions in the Imperial Household Agency need to know how [change to the system] would affect the members and how they think about it.” He also said he had not discussed the matter with his second daughter, Princess Kako.

In April, the agency began posting photos and videos of the Emperor and the Empress on Instagram. Crown Prince Akishino said it was “very good to be able to share information about [the Imperial couple’s] whereabouts in a timely manner.”

Meanwhile, he talked about online posts that could be seen as bashing his family. He said it is difficult to ask the agency to respond because it is difficult to predict whether society agrees with or disagrees with the posts. He also said that those subjected to the bashing may have felt that it was bullying.

Crown Prince Akishino’s eldest son Prince Hisahito turned 18 in September, becoming an adult member of the Imperial family. “It went by in the blink of an eye … I hope that he will work hard and feel that the work he is involved with is important,” he said.

About Princess Kako, he expressed his pleasure at the expanding scope of her work, saying, “[She] is being asked to participate in various activities.” Speaking of the late Princess Yuriko, he said she visited him on his birthday last year and they had a conversation, and that he was “very saddened” by her passing.

As for the most memorable thing that happened this year, he said it was the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on Jan. 1 and expressed condolences to the victims. He also commented on Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, saying he was “deeply moved” by the organization’s activities aimed at a world without nuclear weapons.