Teen heir to Japanese throne says marriage not on his mind
Prince Hisahito, the Japanese imperial family's last hope for the monarchy's long-term survival — unless succession rules change — said marriage is not on his mind yet in his first press conference on Monday.
Only males can ascend the ancient Chrysanthemum Throne and women leave the imperial family if they marry a commoner, with their offspring having no royal status.
But Hisahito, who turned 18 in September and is second in line to become emperor after his father, said it was much too early for him to consider tying the knot.
"Regarding marriage, I have not yet thought deeply about the ideal time or partner," Hisahito told reporters.
Hisahito is the only son of Crown Prince Akishino, 59 — the brother of Emperor Naruhito, 65 — and Crown Princess Kiko, 58.
Naruhito's daughter, Aiko, 23, cannot succeed her father under the Imperial Household Law, in place since 1947, because of her gender.
Hisahito also told his first news conference — foreign media were excluded — that he enjoys observing insects and plants as well as growing vegetables and rice in his private time.
He is also "concerned about the impact (of climate change) on people's lives".
"I feel nervous talking to you all," he said, adding he will consider the possibility of studying abroad like his family members have done.
"As a young member of the Imperial Family, I am determined to fulfil my role," Hisahito said.
The imperial family, whose history according to legend goes back 2,600 years, formally renounced its divine status after Japan's defeat in World War II and it has no political power.
Akihito, who abdicated in 2019 due to his age and poor health, is credited with modernising the institution.
Lawmakers last year began discussing possible relaxations to the strict succession rules, and a Kyodo News poll found 90 percent public support for female succession.
"Stabilising the number of members of the imperial family is a particularly urgent issue," Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in October, calling for active debate on the issue.
But resistance among conservative MPs, who revere the royals as the perfect example of a patriarchal Japanese family, makes that change unlikely any time soon.
In October, a UN committee said Japan should "guarantee the equality of women and men in the succession to the throne" in line with "good practices" in other monarchies.
Japan demanded that the committee withdraw its recommendation, saying that the right to succeed the throne was unrelated to human rights and gender discrimination.
In January it said it would not fund a UN women's rights committee and suspended a member's visit over the issue.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
4 hours ago
- The National
UN Security Council to vote on Gaza aid draft
The 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council have called for a vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution demanding an 'immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties.' The resolution, drafted by Slovenia alongside Algeria and Guyana and seen by The National, reiterates the council's demand for the 'immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups.' It also urges the 'immediate lifting of all restrictions' on humanitarian aid into Gaza, ensuring safe and large-scale distribution, including by the United Nations across the besieged enclave. Slovenia, as the co-ordinator of the non-permanent group, sent the resolution and requested a vote for Wednesday. A UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US is likely to veto the measure. For a resolution to pass, it requires at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes from any of the five permanent members – the US, Russia, China, Britain, or France. On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza as Israeli troops opened fire near a US-backed aid centre, with the military saying the incident was under investigation. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres decried the deaths of Palestinians seeking food aid as 'unacceptable'. 'We are witnessing unthinkable loss of life in Gaza (and) the secretary-general condemns the loss of lives and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid,' UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. 'It is unacceptable civilians are risking and in several instances losing their lives just trying to get food.'
The National
8 hours ago
- The National
Gaza's aid centre chaos laid bare in eyewitness footage
Satellite imagery, witness accounts and open source analysis reviewed by The National show a sharp shift in how the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is running its aid centres. What began on 27 May with fenced queues, intense screenings, and segregated entry and exit lanes seems to have devolved into near-total disorder in which crowds surge from every direction. There have been reports of live fire and tank fire at crowds almost every day since the sites have been up and running. At least 60 Palestinians have now been killed at or near the sites. The UN and every major humanitarian agency operating in Gaza have refused to work with the GHF, arguing that its structure and procedures breach long-standing humanitarian principles. Israel's army maintains that the centres are essential for getting relief into the territory, yet since the first one opened, the death toll has risen sharply. Palestinian health officials report more than 200 additional casualties, many with bullet wounds to the head or chest, overwhelming the ICRC field hospital and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Recent high-resolution satellite images confirm that the compounds were built with two main corridors to separate arrivals and departures. Other social media footage shows watchtowers overlooking each site, while makeshift utility poles carry floodlights around sand berms designed to contain crowds. Layout of one of the controversial US-Israeli aid distribution points in Rafah Queues to chaos On the day the site opened, Palestinians were channelled through narrow, fenced lanes and reportedly subjected to biometric screening. By the early hours of Sunday, June 1, those cordons and queues had vanished. Social media clips show people climbing over the sand berms and rushing at aid pallets from all directions, with no visible crowd management. In one video geolocated to the southern Rafah centre, a US security contractor mutters 'here they come' as the barrier appears to open and the mass surge begins. Shooting into crowds Footage from earlier that morning, just before sunrise, shows Palestinians taking cover on bare sand while floodlights from the aid site glare in the background. Five bursts of gunfire ring out in a 16-second clip, and a voice urges people to lie flat. As dawn breaks, further videos show at least nine bodies sprawled in the sand within minutes, the same utility-pole lighting visible behind them. 'People were shot at without warning; chaos broke out,' Ibrahim Abu Taima told The National, saying his cousin was killed and his nephew wounded. Spotlights at aid distribution centres visible near the site of the shooting on June 1 What we know About 60 Palestinians have been killed and more than 200 wounded during attempts to retrieve aid from Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites since 27 May. Satellite imagery and verified videos show the sites were originally set up with fenced lanes, sand berms and watchtowers to separate entrants and exits, yet by the early hours of 1 June, those entrances and exits were no longer in use. Footage captures multiple bursts of live fire directed towards civilians near to the collection points. Major aid organisations refuse to work with GHF because its procedures violate humanitarian standards, while the foundation itself has offered no public explanation. What we don't know It remains unclear is exactly why the crowd-control system was dismantled, who ordered or carried out the shootings and whether the use of live ammunition was proportionate to any threats from crowds. Precise timelines, independent hospital casualty logs and ballistic forensics are still needed to corroborate witness accounts and determine full accountability. 'It's an ambush,' says official 'This is not aid, it's an ambush,' said Ismail Al Thawabti, director of Gaza's Government Media Office. 'Israel and the US administration are orchestrating massacres under the pretence of humanitarian relief, killing civilians in cold blood without any deterrent.' Israel's military insists its troops 'did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the aid site', conceding only that shots were discharged 'about 1km away' before the site opened. The claim is hard to reconcile with bullet impacts and bodies filmed metres from the site. Sunday's killings were not isolated. On May 27, at the same Rafah centre, mobile phone footage captured at least 14 shots – seven single rounds followed by a burst – as crowds filed through fenced lanes. People ducked and scattered. Across those two days alone, conservative tallies point to more than 50 deaths and 220 injuries. GHF officials have not explained what happened and have declined repeated interview requests. The combined satellite evidence, front-line footage and witness testimony indicate an operational collapse by design or neglect in safeguarding civilians converging on the GHF hubs. The UN is calling for an independent inquiry and an immediate suspension of operations until safe, transparent procedures are restored.
Khaleej Times
9 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
UN sees 'alarming' surge in Afghan families deported from Iran
The UN on Tuesday voiced concern over a surge in Afghan families deported from Iran, recording a more than two-fold increase in May from the previous month, as the rise in returnees squeeze's Afghanistan's resources. Afghanistan's border points with Iran regularly see a steady stream of Afghans returning forcibly or voluntarily after crossing into the neighbouring country, often seeking work. But in May, there was "sharp rise in the forced return of Afghan nationals" from Iran, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said in a statement. "Particularly alarming is a significant surge in the number of families being deported -- a new and concerning trend, as returnees deported in previous months were predominantly single young men," it added. The IOM said 15,675 Afghan families had crossed the border from Iran in May compared to 6,879 in April. The number of Afghan families without legal documentation in Iran returning to Afghanistan last month was three times higher than in May last year, it added. According to the IOM, Iranian officials issued a public statement in late May ordering Afghans without documentation to remain in Iran to leave by July 6, "potentially affecting up to 4 million people". Already since January this year, more than 450,000 Afghans have returned from Iran, the IOM said. Iran, which shares a 900-kilometre border with Afghanistan, hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world, including millions of Afghans who arrived over the past 40 years after fleeing conflict. The spike in returns comes as Afghans have also been pressured to leave Pakistan in droves, with a campaign by Islamabad expelling more than 180,000 Afghans since April. The influx across both borders threatens to strain Afghanistan's already "fragile reception and reintegration systems", according to the IOM, in a country still recovering from decades of conflict. More than one million Afghans have returned from Pakistan since late 2023, when Islamabad launched the first phase of a plan to remove Afghans amid tensions with the Taliban authorities who swept to power in 2021, particularly over security concerns. Many Afghans had lived in Pakistan for decades after fleeing successive wars and crises. The Taliban authorities — still unrecognised by any other country -- have consistently called for Afghans to be allowed a "dignified" return to Afghanistan. The IOM on Tuesday again called for "all countries to immediately suspend the forced return of Afghans, regardless of their immigration status, until safe, voluntary, and dignified return conditions are in place".
