Crown Prince turns 58, pledging self-improvement efforts

February 23, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito, who turned 58 on Friday and is set to become the new Emperor on May 1 next year, has expressed his resolve to keep trying to improve himself.

"Continuing to take how the Emperor and the Empress carry out their public duties to heart, I will make self-improvement efforts while doing my duties at the same time," the Crown Prince told a press conference held in Tokyo on Wednesday.

It was the first press conference since the dates were set for Emperor Akihito's abdication and the Crown Prince's accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

The Crown Prince also said it is important to play the roles of the Emperor as the constitutionally defined symbol of Japan and the unity of the Japanese people while inheriting the long-established Imperial Family tradition that the Emperor and Empress Michiko have also cherished.

But at the same time, he showed eagerness to undertake new public duties, saying, "Thinking about duties to respond to social changes and taking action are also what the Imperial Family of the times should do."

He avoided directly commenting on concerns raised by some experts that the existence of new and retired emperors after the Imperial succession could cause double authority.

Referring to the fact that Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited many places in and outside the country to communicate with people there, he said it is "natural" that many Japanese people continue to adore the couple.

The Crown Prince will mark the 25th anniversary of his marriage on June 9. "Time flies," he said. "It means a lot to me that 25 years are about to pass since I got married."

He expressed hope that his wife, Crown Princess Masako, who has been under medical treatment, will do what she can do one by one.

He also said that he wants his daughter, Princess Aiko, who will become a second-grader at high school this spring, to experience a variety of things and follow the path that she wants. Jiji Press