Japan’s oldest monarch, Princess Yuriko, sister of wartime Emperor Hirohito, dies at 101.

In Tokyo – Japan’s Princess Yuriko, the wartime wife of Emperor Hirohito’s brother and a senior member of the royal family, has died after her health took a turn for the worse recently, palace officials said. Yuriko died on Friday at the age of 101 in a Tokyo hospital, the Imperial Household Agency said. It did not announce the cause of death.

Born in 1923 as a professional, Yuriko was married at the age of 18 to Prince Mikasa, Hirohito’s younger brother and the current Emperor Naruhito’s uncle, months before the World War II.

She tells of living in a shelter with her husband and their infant daughter after their apartment was burned down during the US bombing of Tokyo in the final months of the war in 1945.

Yuriko raised five children and supported Mikasa’s research into the ancient history of the Near East, while performing her official duties and participating in charitable activities, including promoting maternal and child health. She outlived her husband and all three of their sons.

His death reduces Japan’s rapidly dwindling royal family to 16 people, including four men, as the country grapples with how to preserve the royal line as conservatives in the ruling party insist on maintaining a male-only line of succession.

The Imperial House Act of 1947, which largely preserves Japan’s pre-war family values, allows only males to ascend the throne and forces female members of the royal family who marry commoners to lose their royal status. That law came into effect recently, there Princess Mako married her non-royal lover Kei Komuro in October 2021, immediately shedding his royal title and trappings – and depriving the dwindling royal family of another member.

The youngest male member of the royal family, Prince Hisahito – Emperor Naruhito’s nephew – is currently the last heir apparent, posing a major challenge to a system that does not allow honorific wives. The conservative-led government is debating how to keep the succession stable without relying on women.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, visiting South America to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and Group of 20 summit, issued a statement expressing “heartfelt condolences.”

Naruhito, Governor Masako and their daughter Aiko and other relatives visit Mikasa’s residence to mourn Yuriko’s death. The palace announced that the general public wishing to express their condolences can sign a letter from Saturday.

Yuriko had lived a healthy 100-year-old life before suffering a stroke and pneumonia in March.

He enjoyed exercising in the morning while watching a daily exercise program on television, the Imperial Household Agency said. He continued to read many newspapers and magazines and enjoyed watching the news and baseball on TV. On sunny days, he would sit in the palace garden or walk in his wheelchair.

Yuriko was hospitalized after suffering a stroke and has been in and out of intensive care ever since. His condition worsened last week, the Imperial Household Agency said.