Crown Prince Akishino turned 59 on Saturday.
At a news conference held in advance at the Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo, the Crown Prince declined to comment on the Imperial Family system, including a proposal being discussed in Japan’s parliament to allow female members to stay in the family after marriage to secure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members.
But he said that Imperial Household Agency staff who support Imperial Family members „need to know“ how the members who would be affected by such a change think about the issue, because they are „humans.“