Prince Akishino, the "Emperor" who is first in the line of succession to the Imperial Throne, celebrated his 1th birthday on the 30th.
Prince Akishino held a press conference at the Akasaka Imperial Estate, where he lives, before his birthday.
In it, Prince Akishino said that most of the large-scale renovation work of the palace was not the private room part of the family, but the official part for dealing with visitors, etc., and the part of the government office called the Imperial Household Agency. On the other hand, I think that the three categories that have been announced so far have not been clear and that the explanation has been insufficient."
As for their second daughter, Yoshiko, who will eventually marry and leave the Imperial Family, Prince Akishino and his wife said that they had planned not to set up a room in the renovated palace from the beginning, and explained the reason why they did not announce it at first, saying, "In the first place, we did not disclose who lives where in this house. And the other reason is that there is also a security issue, so we did not disclose it for that reason."
In addition, he said that he should have made an announcement at the end of last fiscal year, but he had to announce the residence and a part of the Imperial Household Agency together, and it took time to gather opinions. There was a time when I was quite sluggish. In other words, I regret that I procrastinated it and it was very late in terms of timing. I think it was necessary to be more involved in that and release it in a timely manner."
Regarding the career path of his eldest son, Yuhito, who is in his second year of high school and will become an adult in September next year, he said, "I think the most important thing is what you want to do when you graduate and go to university, for example.
On top of that, he said that he doesn't think he will be able to go out to public places as often as possible because he will prioritize his studies for a while even after reaching adulthood, but added, "I think that you will gradually be approached by various places. I would like them to work on it carefully."
In addition, regarding Yoshiko's marriage, she said, "In the future, when my daughter talks to me about marriage, I would like to listen carefully to her thoughts and also tell her what I think."
Direct contact with many people in Japan and abroad
With the legal status of the new coronavirus shifted to Class 5, Prince Akishino has had direct contact with many people in Japan and abroad over the past year.
In May, he visited the United Kingdom for the first time since the pandemic and attended the coronation of King Charles, congratulated the King directly at a reception, and exchanged words with members of the British royal family and royalty from various countries.
In September, he made a goodwill visit to Vietnam and interacted with a wide range of generations who have ties to Japan.
In Japan, while I visited 1 other prefectures in Tokyo and interacted with the people, the number of events I participated in online decreased by nearly one-third.
At a press conference ahead of his birthday, Prince Akishino said, "I think it is very gratifying that various restrictions have been lifted and people's activities have become closer to those before COVID. In the past, it was only a ceremony, but now that social gatherings have been held for the first time in about four years, I have been able to talk with the people involved in a very normal way. Of course, we look at the people involved in the ceremony in advance, but by actually talking about it at a social gathering, we can deepen our understanding and have various discussions there. I feel like that's because of the importance of the last four years."
The Imperial Household Agency released a video of Prince Akishino's family
On the occasion of Prince Akishino's birthday, the Imperial Household Agency released a video of Prince Akishino and his wife, their second daughter Yoshiko, and their eldest son Yuhito strolling through the garden of their residence in the Akasaka Imperial Estate on the 18th of this month.
About 30 years ago, on the couple's wedding anniversary, the family was given a gift by an official of the Imperial Household Agency, and in front of a palm tree that had grown large, they talked about the couple's official visit to Vietnam in September and Princess Yoshiko's official visit to Peru in November.