Prince Mikasa, uncle of Emperor Akihito, died on Thursday, government sources said. He was 100.
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He died at 8:34 a.m. on Thursday in a Tokyo hospital after his condition deteriorated, the sources said.
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The prince was the oldest member of the Imperial family, living through the reign of three different Emperors, in the Taisho, Showa and Heisei eras. He was 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.
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 preceded him in death, in 2002, 2012 and 2014, respectively.
The prince was known as a scholar of ancient Oriental history and served as honorary president of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan and the Japan-Turkey Society.