Hirohito’s brother Prince Mikasa, who served Japan’s imperial army in Nanjing, turns 100

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 and the Pacific theatre of the Second World War.

He was posted to Nanjing for about a year in 1943, and later expressed guilt over his inability at the time to appreciate the horrors of war. The city was the site of the infamous Nanjing Massacre by Japanese troops in late 1937 and early 1938.

“Nothing will change just because I turn 100 years old,” the prince said in a statement issued through the Imperial Household Agency.

“I'd like to spend my days pleasantly and peacefully while praying for the happiness of people around the world and thanking my wife Yuriko, who has been supporting me for more than 70 years,” the prince said.

The prince has been in good health after recovering from heart surgery in 2012, an agency official said.

Together with Princess Yuriko, 92, Prince Mikasa routinely exercises for about 30 minutes a day at their residence in Motoakasaka, Tokyo, according to the agency.