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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Running out of royals: why calls are growing to let Japan’s princess Aiko take the throne

Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Princess Aiko and Empress Masako are seen on the screen after the World Baseball Classic game between Japan and Australia in March 2026.
Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Princess Aiko and Empress Masako are seen on the screen after the World Baseball Classic game between Japan and Australia in March 2026. Photograph: Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty Images

Her face is splashed across magazine covers. Fans flock to online stores to snap up her outfits. At official engagements, huge crowds wait in the crushing heat to catch a glimpse of a woman revered for her ‘regal dignity, beauty and aura’.

Princess Aiko, 24, is the most popular member of Japan’s imperial family, but according to law she will never be empress and, as the country runs out of royals, more and more Japanese people are asking why.

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