Princess of Japan mourns loss of life in Ukraine

TOKYO (AP) — The only daughter of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Princess Aiko, said she was devastated by the loss of so many lives in Ukraine on Thursday during her first solo press conference as an adult member of the Japanese royal family.

“I am extremely devastated by the loss of many valuable lives in Ukraine,” Aiko said when answering a question about the Russian invasion.

Quoting a phrase from her father shared on her birthday in February, Aiko said she hoped that connections between peoples would cross national and regional boundaries and lead to a peaceful world where people tolerate differences.

“I strongly believe in peace,” he added, recalling his visit to Hiroshima as a high school student which made him feel strongly the importance of peace after seeing the horrendous scenes of the atomic bombing of August 6, 1945 in the peace museum.

Growing up, he said, his grandfather the emperor emeritus Akihito, who abdicated three years ago, used to remind him of the background of royal duties: staying close to the village, a lesson that his son Naruhito followed.

“I think the most important thing as a royal is to do our duty while praying for people's happiness and sharing joy and pain,” Aiko said during her first press conference since coming of age (20 years old in Japan) on December 1.

His grandfather, the son of the controversial Emperor Hirohito who was monarch when Japan fought in World War II, dedicated his career to promoting peace. He won the affection of many by approaching those suffering discrimination and disaster victims with the help of his wife Michiko, the first commoner to marry a Japanese emperor.

Aiko also sent words of encouragement to residents of disaster areas, including those still recovering from the deadly March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima Prefecture. On Wednesday, four people were killed by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that hit the region again.

Aiko is the only daughter of Naruhito and Empress Masako, who studied at Harvard and was a diplomat. He is currently studying Japanese literature at the University of Gakushuin.

Shortly after giving birth, Masako suffered from stress and mental health problems, from which she is still recovering, apparently because of criticism for not having a male heir.

On Thursday, Aiko thanked her mother for “giving me life.”

Under current law, Aiko is not eligible to ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne. He would also have to leave royalty if he marries a commoner. Aiko said that marriage still looks distant in the future.

The Imperial Household Act of 1947, which mainly preserves pre-war real values, allows only one line of male succession and forces female members of the royal family to lose their royal status if they marry commoners.

A government-commissioned panel of experts submitted a report to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in December to propose ways to keep potential successors without changing the imperial system of male succession, which has put the increasingly small royal family on the brink of extinction.

Recent media surveys showed that 80% of the population supports female empresses.

The panel avoided discussing whether female empresses could be allowed, and suggested restoring now-defunct royal homes to adopt male descendants as potential heirs. The possibility of allowing female members of the royal family to maintain their status if they marry commoners was also proposed, a less controversial measure.

The royal family now has 17 members. Naruhito has only two possible successors, his younger brother Akishino and his teenage son, Hisahito, the only underage member of the family increasingly entering years.