Princess Yuriko — the Oldest Member of Japan’s Imperial Family — Dies at 101

Mar. 15, 2025

Princess Yuriko Mikasa of Japan attends the ceremony of the 42nd National Convention for Aiiku Group Member in Minato Ward, Tokyo on April 20, 2010.Photo:The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP

The file photo shows Princess Yuriko Mikasa of Japan attends the ceremony of the 42nd National Convention for Aiiku Group Member in Minato Ward, Tokyo on April 20, 2010. Princess Yuriko has died at the age of 101 the oldest Living member of the Imperial family.

The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP

Princess Yuriko of Japan, who was the oldest member of the Japanese Imperial Family, has died at 101 years old.

Princess Yuriko — the wife of Emperor Hirohito’s brother — died at a Tokyo hospital on Friday, Nov. 15 after her health deteriorated recently, the Imperial Household Agency toldCNN.

Though palace officials didn’t specify a cause of death, CNN reported that Japanese media said she died of pneumonia. Yuriko suffered a stroke and pneumonia in March of this year, but up until that point had lived a healthy life, including taking part in exercise and watching a daily fitness show on television, according to the Imperial Household Agency.

Princess Yuriko Mikasa of Japan in Tokyo, Japan on June 1, 2010. On Nov. 15, 2024, the Imperial Household Agency announced that Princess Yuriko, the oldest member of the imperial family, died at the age of 101 at the St. Luke’s International Hospital.JIJI PRESS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

This file picture shows Princess Yuriko Mikasa of Japan in Tokyo, Japan, 01 June 2010 (issued 15 November 2024). On 15 November 2024, the Imperial Household Agency announced that Princess Yuriko, the oldest member of the imperial family, died at the age of 101 at the St. Luke’s International Hospital. Japan’s Princess Yuriko Mikasa dies aged 101, Tokyo - 01 Jun 2010

JIJI PRESS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Yuriko was hospitalized after her stroke and had been in and out of intensive care since then. Her overall condition deteriorated over the past week, the Imperial Household Agency said.

Mikasa and Yuriko were parents to five children, and Yuriko outlived her husband and all three of their sons, according to CNN. She served the royal family and also took part in philanthropic activities during her public life.

On a larger scale, the royal’s death brings Japan’s “rapidly dwindling” Imperial family to just 16 people, CNN reported, “as the country faces the dilemma of how to maintain the royal family while conservatives in the governing party insist on retaining male-only succession.”

Japan’s Princess Yuriko (C) visits a Persian cultural exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum with her husband Prince Mikasa and her granddaughter Princess Akiko on July 31, 2006.Kyodo via AP

Japan’s Princess Yuriko (C) visits a Persian cultural exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum with her husband Prince Mikasa and her granddaughter Princess Akiko on July 31, 2006. Emperor Naruhito’s great-aunt, the oldest member of Japan’s imperial family, died at a Tokyo hospital on Nov. 15, 2024, at the age of 101.

Kyodo via AP

Japan’s 1947 Imperial House Law allows only males to take the Japanese throne, and forces female royal family members who marry commoners to lose their royal status, as has happened recently withPrincess AyakoandPrincess Mako.

Currently, the youngest male member of the Imperial family, Prince Hisahito — the nephew of Emperor Naruhito — is the family’s last heir apparent, which poses a problem for a royal family that doesn’t allow empresses. “The government is debating how to keep succession stable without relying on women,” CNN reported.

King Charles III, Emperor Naruhito, Queen Camilla and Prince William, Prince of Wales make their way along the East Gallery to attend the State Banquet for Emperor Naruhito and his wife Empress Masako of Japan at Buckingham Palace on June 25, 2024 in London, England.Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty

King Charles III, Emperor Naruhito, Queen Camilla and Prince William, Prince of Wales make their way along the East Gallery to attend the State Banquet for Emperor Naruhito and his wife Empress Masako of Japan at Buckingham Palace on June 25, 2024 in London, England.

Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty

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In June,King CharlesandQueen Camillahosted Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako,for a state visit. As the King continued to ease back into public duty after announcing his cancer diagnosis in February,Prince Williamgreeted the coupleupon their arrival in the U.K., butwithout Kate Middleton, as she too was largely away from public duty throughout most of this year after announcing her own cancer diagnosis in March.

source: people.com