Former Imperial Family Member Views Adoption Plan as Unrealistic

Tokyo, July 2 (Jiji Press)–An 81-year-old man from a former Imperial Family branch has questioned a plan to allow the Imperial Family to adopt male, paternal-line descendants of former branches amid the declining number of Imperial Family members. Born to the Kuninomiya branch of the Imperial Family in October 1944, Asahiro Kuni is the third son of Prince Kuni and Princess Tomoko, as well as the youngest of their eight children. He is a nephew of the late Empress Kojun, the wife of Emperor Showa, and a cousin of Emperor Emeritus Akihito. When the Kuninomiya branch left the Imperial institution in October 1947, Kuni was 3 years old and 18th in line to the throne. “I don’t remember anything from those days,” he says. “I’ve been living as an ordinary citizen, and it (the adoption plan) seems unrealistic to me,” Kuni says. “I also wonder if it can gain public understanding,” he added. At Gakushuin Primary School, students in the same grade as him included Yasuko Konoe, 82, the daughter of the late Prince Mikasa. After graduating from Gakushuin University, he worked as an engineer at Hitachi Ltd. for about 40 years. During his school days and in the workplace, he avoided speaking about his Imperial Family background as much as possible. “I didn’t want to be treated specially,” he says. Meanwhile, his older brother, Kuniaki, 97, went to a naval academy and wrote in a book, “I guess there were arrangements for me to receive education to rule as a monarch.” “Unlike my older brother, I received common education,” Kuni said. He had interactions with the Imperial Family even after leaving it. Empress Kojun gifted him a wire-controlled aluminum model airplane to celebrate his enrollment in junior high school. As a child, he was invited to the Imperial Palace on Jan. 3 to greet Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun, who were dressed in traditional clothing. He ate “zoni” soup and “ohanabira” mochi with burdock root with other children from former Imperial Family branches. Kuni continued to interact with the Imperial Family and former branch members through a dedicated group. However, the group has not hosted such events since 2014. Nearly 80 years after leaving the Imperial institution, Kuni says, “Everyone has found a path in life.” He has two daughters and five grandchildren, including a boy. “It would require a lot of determination to live as a member of the Imperial Family,” Kuni says. “No one should be forced (to be adopted into the Imperial Family),” he stresses. “I hope the (proposed adoption) system will respect the wishes of individuals.” On June 13, Kuni met Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, at a general assembly of Gakushuin Primary School’s alumni organization. “She has become a charming woman,” Kuni says. “A female Emperor would be good if the Imperial Family continues.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]