Japan’s Prince Mikasa, uncle of Emperor Akihito and brother of the wartime emperor Hirohito, turned 100 years old on Wednesday.
The prince is the oldest member of the Imperial family, living through the reign of three different Emperors in the Taisho, Showa and Heisei eras. He is the only living royal family member to have served in the military during the Sino-Japanese war from 1937 and the Pacific Theater of World War II.
“Nothing will change just because I turn 100 years old,” the prince said in a statement issued through the Imperial Household Agency.
Together with Princess Yuriko, 92, Prince Mikasa routinely exercises for about 30 minutes a day at their residence in Motoakasaka, Tokyo.
Prince Mikasa was born on Dec. 2, 1915, the fourth son of Emperor Taisho. His eldest brother was Emperor Hirohito, posthumously called Emperor Showa.
The prince served as an officer in the Imperial Japanese Army after graduating from the army’s college. He was posted to Nanjing, China, under a pseudonym for one year from 1943. In a book published after the end of the war, he expressed a sense of guilt over his failure to fully grasp the criminality of war.
With his wife Princess Yuriko, Prince Mikasa had three sons and two daughters. Prince Takamado, Tomohito and Katsura all predeceased him, in 2002, 2012, and 2014, respectively.
He has nine grandchildren, four of whom are members of the Imperial family, and four great-grandchildren.
The prince is known as a scholar of ancient Oriental history and currently serves as honorary president of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan and the Japan-Turkey Society.
