Japan prince: Royal duties need to review as members decline

Japanese royal family’s new generation prefers the reviewing of the current code of the royal duties. The Emperor’s family faces declining membership, with Naruhito and his wife and their three daughters expected to lose royal status when they each marry a commoner.

The new Emperor Naruhito’s younger brother believes that a royal family can perform only as much because its membership is declining. Three daughters of the Emperor prefer to say goodbye to their royal status because of their marriage to commoners. Thus, the membership is substantially declining while the royal duties’ volume remains the same.

Crown Prince Fumihito is the younger brother of the Japanese Emperor. Fumihito is better known as Prince Akishino, and after Akihito’s abdication in April, he is now next in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

On Friday, Crown Prince told the press ahead of his European trip to mark Japan’s diplomatic centennial that scaling down of imperial duties is inevitable and needs broad public discussion.