Japan prince: Royal duties need review as members decline

Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s younger brother says the royal family can perform only as much because its membership is declining.

Crown Prince Fumihito, better known as Prince Akishino, is now next in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne after his father, Akihito, abdicated at the end of April and his brother Naruhito succeeded him in May.

The family faces a declining membership, with Akihito and his wife now retired and their three granddaughters expected to lose royal status when they each marry a commoner, under the current Imperial House Law.

Akishino told reporters Friday ahead of his trip to Finland and Poland to mark Japan’s diplomatic centennial that scaling down of imperial duties is inevitable and needs broad public discussion.