Japanese Imperial Family Today

It was recently reported that Prince Hisahito, the only son of the Akishino family, has been chosen to go to Tsukuba University High School through the privileged system of special affiliated admission. Yuji Odabe, professor emeritus at Shizuoka University of Social Welfare and an expert on the modern imperial family system, points out that the Akishino family lacks the education to overcome the problem on their own .   “There will be difficulties no matter which school he goes to. What is important is that His Highness is determined to overcome the difficulties in whatever he chooses to do. What is most undesirable is the idea that the privileges of the royal family allow them to do whatever they want. ” (Shukan Josei, December 14, 2021)   The issue of Hisahito's decision around higher education and the use of imperial privileges by former Princess Mako in her marriage to Kei Komuro, as well as the attitude of her father, Prince Akishino, in protecting her, are connected

  Prince Hisahito, the only son of Prince and Princess Akishino The only son of the Akishino family, Prince Hisahito (15), is currently a junior high school student attached to Ochanomizu University for Women. Since only female students are allowed to enter the high school attached to Ochanomizu University, Hisahito has no choice but to find another school to go to. There have been a number of names of high schools that have been discussed for his future.   However, it seems that his next step has finally been decided. The following is a quote from "Bunshun Online" dated December 22 and "Shukan Bunshun Digital" dated December 23.   For some time, Gakushuin, a traditional school for members of the Imperial Family, had been considered the most promising school for Hisahito.   “One of the reasons why it was considered the most likely choice was because of the flap over the marriage issue of Mako, the eldest daughter of the Akishino family, who went on to

  Princess Aiko visits the Emperor and Empress at an adult event on the afternoon of December 5 On December 25, the anniversary of the death of Emperor Taisho, Her Imperial Highness Princess Toshinomiya Aiko, the only daughter of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, who reached the age of majority on December 1, attended a palace ritual at the Imperial Palace for the first time.   As the palace ritual is a private religious event and not an official duty, no cameras were allowed to cover the event, but Princess Aiko wore a long off-white coat and a hat of the same color, and was the first of the female members of the Imperial Family to pay her respects in a calm manner.   Since her birthday on December 1 and her coming-of-age event on December 5, the news coverage of the Imperial Family has been all about Princess Aiko. The scandalous marriage of Mako, the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino, to Komuro had cast a dark shadow over the image of the Imperial Family, but with

    It was announced that Aiko, the only daughter of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, will attend the New Year's Celebration Ceremony on January 1 next year as her first official duty after coming of age.   On December 23, the Imperial Household Agency announced the events for the year-end and New Year holidays. Next year's New Year's events will begin at 5:30 a.m. on January 1 with the "Shiho-hai," the Emperor's pilgrimage towards the Ise Shrine and other shrines at the Imperial Palace.   From 10:00 a.m. on the 1st, the New Year's Celebration Ceremony will be held at the Imperial Palace, attended by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress and other members of the Imperial Family.   Princess Aiko’s attendance at the New Year's Celebration will be the first official duty for her, who celebrated her 20th birthday this month.   It was also announced that Aiko will attend the "Ritual of Emperor Taisho's Rites" at t

Their Majesties to visit the Emperor Emeritus to congratulate his 88th birthday   Recent image of the Emperor Emeritus and his wife  On the 23rd, the Emperor Emeritus, the father of His Majesty the Emperor, celebrated his 88th birthday, and was congratulated by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress.   Last year's celebration of the Emperor Emeritus’ birthday was cancelled due to the new coronavirus, but this year's event was held with a limited number of attendees, taking care to prevent infection.   Just before 11:00 a.m., Their Majesties visited the Sento Temporary Palace in Tokyo's Minato Ward, the temporary residence of the Emperor Emeritus and his wife, and offered words of congratulations.   According to his aides, Their Majesties are very happy that the Emperor Emeritus is in good health today and that they were able to have a friendly chat.   Prince Akishino also paid a visit to congratulate the Emperor, and in the afternoon, Prime Minister Kis

    The advisory panel on the stable succession to the throne held on December 22 decided on a final report based on two proposals: (1) female members of the Imperial Family will remain in the Imperial Family after marriage, and (2) male members of the former Imperial Family will return to the Imperial Family as adopted children: that  once again shelved the issue of a female emperor and a female line of emperors, which is desired by the majority of the Japanese people, thus making the issue of the succession to the throne even more serious. The following is a quote from an article in the December 15 edition of President Online that I feel hits the nail on the head.     The sins of the expert panel, which "ran away" from the issue of a stable succession to the throne, will make it even more difficult for Princess Aiko to marry   With the departure of Mako, the eldest daughter of the Akishino family, from the imperial family register after her marriage in October

    On December 6, the government's advisory panel (chaired by Atsushi Seike, former president of Keio University), which is discussing a stable succession to the throne, confirmed the outline of its final report. As concrete measures to cope with the decline in the number of members of the Imperial Family, a report will be compiled by the end of this year, and the government will report to the Diet on two proposals: (1) female members of the IF will remain in the IF after marriage, and (2) male members of the former IF will return to the IF as adopted children.   At the meeting, they presented two proposals for securing the number of members of the IF, and in the event that they still could not secure the number of members, they proposed that male members of the former IF be made members of the IF directly by law, rather than through adoption. From the viewpoint of protecting the succession of the throne by male lineal descendants, the meeting did not touch on the pros and cons

  (The main article is here .) Kyodo News editor Kenichi Ohki contributed an article to the Japanese online news site Gendai Business on December 12, criticizing the remarks made by Prince Akishino at his birthday press conference released last November 30. He pointed out that Akishino is not fully accountable to the people outside of the Imperial Family and is only trying to protect the "inside" rather than the "outside.”   Note: In my previous blog, I pointed out that in the same press conference, there was not a single word of sympathy for the people suffering from the Corona disaster, which I feel is the same root as the contents of Mr. Ohki's argument.   The following is an introduction to Mr.Ohki’s article.

    (The main article is here.) On the occasion of Her Majesty the Empress Masako's 58th birthday, the Imperial Household Agency released the following doctors' opinions on her physical condition.

    (The main article is here.) On the occasion of her 58th birthday on December 9, Her Majesty the Empress Masako announced her impressions through the Imperial Household Agency.

On December 9, the Imperial Household Agency released a video of Her Majesty Empress Masako as she celebrated her 58th birthday. Masako has been attending major regional events online this year. In the video, she chatted with the Emperor of Japan while looking at traditional crafts associated with the various places she visited. Just before 3:00 p.m. that day, Empress Masako left the Imperial Palace where she resides with Her Majesty and waved with a radiant smile to the congratulatory voices. After this, Their Majesties bade farewell to the 100 or so people who had gathered, including neighbors, and then visited the residence of the Emperor and Empress to greet them on their birthday. On the 9th, Empress Masako also released her thoughts in writing through the Imperial Household Agency. Full text of her birthday impression is here. She expressed her relief that her eldest daughter, Aiko, had completed her adulthood, and also expressed her feelings as a mother, saying, "I am

  Princess Aiko attends an adult event wearing a long dress with a tiara   (5th, West Parade of the Imperial Palace)   Her Imperial Highness Princess Toshinomiya Aiko, the only daughter of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, who celebrated her 20th birthday on December 1, attended a coming-of-age event including the bestowal of orders at the Imperial Palace on December 5. She wore a long dress and a tiara as her formal attire, and responded to the congratulations with a smile.   Order of Merit worn by Princess Aiko (5th, West Parade of the Imperial Palace)   Since she had university classes on the day of her birthday, the major adult events were held on the morning of the 5th, a holiday. After visiting the three halls of the Imperial Palace, where the Imperial Ancestral Deities are worshipped, Aiko received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown from His Majesty the Emperor in the Phoenix Room of the Palace. According to her aides, Aiko "straightene

    Her Imperial Highness Princess Toshinomiya Aiko, the only daughter of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, celebrated her 20th birthday on December 1. Continuing from the previous article, I would like to introduce Princess Aiko's essay written five years ago at her graduation from junior high school.  This essay then gave birth to a wonderful episode  four years later.  

    Her Imperial Highness Princess Toshinomiya Aiko of the Imperial Household celebrated her 20th birthday on December 1. Her essays from her junior high school days are attracting renewed attention.   The following is the full text of "Aiko the Nurse," a short story written by Princess Aiko in her first year at Gakushuin Junior High School.