TOKYO: Japanese Crown Prince Akishino turned 59 on Saturday.
At a press conference held in advance at the Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo, the Crown Prince declined to make a comment related to the Imperial Family system, including a proposal being discussed in Japan’s parliament to allow female members to stay in the family after marriage to secure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members.
But he said that Imperial Household Agency staff who support Imperial Family members “need to know” how the members who would be affected by such a change think about the issue, because they are “humans.”
On the most memorable thing that happened this year, he mentioned the powerful earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on Jan. 1, followed by heavy rains in the same region in September. “This was very big thing,” he said.
Wishing for early reconstruction of the region, the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito expressed condolences over those who perished and sympathy to those affected by the disasters.
Regarding his son, Prince Hisahito, Crown Prince Akishino said, “I want him to tackle his tasks with care, one by one.” Prince Hisahito turned 18 in September, becoming an adult member of the Imperial Family.
The Crown Prince recalled an episode in which he and his son were on the way home from school when Prince Hisahito was in the sixth or so grade. Prince Hisahito led the way, as Crown Prince Akishino was unsure which way to go because of his “very poor spatial awareness,” he said.
He also talked about his mother, Empress Emerita Michiko, who had a femur injury in October and currently walks with a cane. “Her recovery seems to be very fast,” he said happily.
On the death of Princess Yuriko in November, he said that he misses her very much.
Regarding online comments that can be taken as criticism of the Akishino family, he said he thinks that these “may look more like bullying” from the perspective of those concerned.
JIJI Press