The Princess of Japan mourns the 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 precious lives in Ukraine,” Aiko said when answering a question about the Russian invasion.

Citing a phrase from her father shared on her birthday in February, Aiko said she hopes that ties between peoples will cross national and regional borders and lead to a peaceful world where people tolerate differences.

“I am a firm believer in peace,” he added, recalling his visit to Hiroshima as a high school student who made him feel strongly the importance of peace after seeing the horrific scenes of the atomic bombing of August 6, 1945 in the Peace Museum.

Growing up, he says, his grandfather Emperor Emeritus Akihito, who abdicated three years ago, used to remind him of the background of royal duties: staying near the village, a lesson 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 at 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 a monarch when Japan fought in World War II, dedicated his career to promoting peace. He won the affection of many by approaching those who suffer discrimination and disaster with the help of his wife Michiko, the first commoner to marry a Japanese emperor.

Aiko also sent words of encouragement to people in the 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 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the region again.

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

Shortly after giving birth, Masako was suffering from stress and mental health issues, 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 the current law, Aiko is not eligible to rise to the chrysanthemum throne. He should also leave royalty if he marries a commoner. Aiko said that marriage still seems far off in the future.

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

A government-mandated expert group submitted a report to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in December proposing ways to keep potential successors without changing the imperial system of male succession, which has put the increasingly smaller royal family on the brink of extinction.

Recent media surveys have shown that 80% of the population supports empresses.

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

Today, the royal family has 17 members. Naruhito has only two possible successors, his younger brother Akishino and his teenage son, Hisahito, the only minor member of the family who is increasingly entering the years.