Princess Yuriko, the oldest living member of the Japanese imperial family, turned 101 on Tuesday.
According to the Imperial Household Agency, the princess — who is the great-aunt of Emperor Naruhito — has become the oldest member of the imperial family born in or after the Meiji Era (1868-1912), exceeding her late husband, Prince Mikasa, who died in 2016 at the age of 100.
Princess Yuriko is staying at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo from March 3 after being diagnosed with a mild case of cerebral infarction and aspiration pneumonia. She is able to communicate and is rehabilitating, but she cannot eat or drink, the agency said.
Buichiro Kuroda, vice head of the agency, said that the organization is paying close attention to the princess given her very advanced age, although she is in stable condition.
Princess Yuriko, the second daughter of Viscount Masanari Takagi, was born in 1923. She married Prince Mikasa in 1941 and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The three sons have already died.