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Japan Emperor's Brother Proclaimed 1st in Line to Throne

In this photo provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Crown Prince Akishino, second from left, attends a ceremony formally proclaiming him first in line to the throne with Emperor Naruhito, center left, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Nov. 8, 2020. (AP)
In this photo provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Crown Prince Akishino, second from left, attends a ceremony formally proclaiming him first in line to the throne with Emperor Naruhito, center left, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Nov. 8, 2020. (AP)
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Japan Emperor's Brother Proclaimed 1st in Line to Throne

In this photo provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Crown Prince Akishino, second from left, attends a ceremony formally proclaiming him first in line to the throne with Emperor Naruhito, center left, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Nov. 8, 2020. (AP)
In this photo provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Crown Prince Akishino, second from left, attends a ceremony formally proclaiming him first in line to the throne with Emperor Naruhito, center left, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Nov. 8, 2020. (AP)

Japanese Emperor Naruhito's younger brother, Crown Prince Fumihito, was formally sworn in as first in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne in a traditional palace ritual Sunday that has been postponed for seven month and scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ceremony for the 54-year-old crown prince, better known as Prince Akishino, concludes a series of imperial succession rituals that began in May last year when Naruhito ascended to the throne after their 86-year-old father Akihito abdicated.

Inside the palace’s most prestigious Pine Room, Naruhito, 60, declared that his younger brother is now officially the crown prince who is first in line to succeed the throne of the world's oldest monarchy.

“I hereby declare in and outside of the country that prince Fumihito is now the crown prince,” said Naruhito, in his reddish brown robe and a headdress. Fumihito, in an orange robe and accompanied by his wife, Crown Princess Kiko, pledged in response: “I deeply acknowledge my responsibilities as crown prince and carry out my duties.”

The approximately 15-minute ceremony, initially scheduled for April 19, was postponed after Japan’s government issued a state of emergency earlier that month due to the pandemic.

Sunday’s ritual was scaled down from the original 350 to about 50 attendants that included Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and other top government officials, as well as prefectural representatives and select foreign dignitaries.

In a separate, closed ceremony later Sunday, Fumihito inherited an imperial sword symbolizing his status as crown prince.

Palace banquets and other events including public signing of congratulatory messages have been canceled as part of anti-virus measures.

Sunday's proclamation for the crown prince paves the way for the government to start discussing what to do with the dire shortage of heirs.

Naruhito's succession left only two younger men in line for the throne — Fumihito and his 14-year-old son, Hisahito. Naruhito’s 18-year-old daughter, Aiko, and the crown prince's two daughters Mako and Kako are not in line because they are women.

Japan's Imperial House Law, largely based on pre-war constitution, does not allow a female emperor and bars women when they marry commoners.

The government in 2005 considered the possibility of female emperors, but the discussion halted as soon as Hisahito was born the following year. Surveys have shown that most Japanese support having female emperors, as Aiko has become increasingly popular.

Suga recently said his government will begin studying ways to secure a stable imperial succession after the crown prince's proclamation.

Official duties increased during the reign of hugely popular former emperor Akihito, who actively interacted with the public, including visiting disaster-hit areas to console residents.

Fumihito, one of the outspoken members of the imperial family, has expressed his views on how the family should adapt to modern times. He has said he believed royal duties can be shared equally regardless of gender, though he declined to comment on whether female emperors should be allowed.

The imperial family currently has 13 women, including six who could marry and lose their royal status in coming years.

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NASA's Stuck Astronauts are Finally on their Way Back to Earth after 9 Months in Space

In this photo provided by NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station's Harmony module and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 13, 2024. (NASA via AP)
In this photo provided by NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station's Harmony module and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 13, 2024. (NASA via AP)
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NASA's Stuck Astronauts are Finally on their Way Back to Earth after 9 Months in Space

In this photo provided by NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station's Harmony module and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 13, 2024. (NASA via AP)
In this photo provided by NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station's Harmony module and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 13, 2024. (NASA via AP)

NASA’s two stuck astronauts headed back to Earth with SpaceX on Tuesday to close out a dramatic marathon mission that began with a bungled Boeing test flight more than nine months ago.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams bid farewell to the International Space Station — their home since last spring — departing aboard a SpaceX capsule alongside two other astronauts. The capsule undocked in the wee hours and aimed for a splashdown off the Florida coast by early evening, weather permitting.

The two expected to be gone just a week or so after launching on Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule on June 5. So many problems cropped up on the way to the space station that NASA eventually sent Starliner back empty and transferred the test pilots to SpaceX, pushing their homecoming into February. Then SpaceX capsule issues added another month’s delay.

Sunday’s arrival of their relief crew meant Wilmore and Williams could finally leave. NASA cut them loose a little early, given the iffy weather forecast later this week. They checked out with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov, who arrived in their own SpaceX capsule last fall with two empty seats reserved for the Starliner duo.

“We'll miss you, but have a great journey home,” NASA's Anne McClain called out from the space station as the capsule pulled away 260 miles (418 kilometers) above the Pacific.

Their plight captured the world’s attention, giving new meaning to the phrase “stuck at work.” While other astronauts had logged longer spaceflights over the decades, none had to deal with so much uncertainty or see the length of their mission expand by so much.

Wilmore and Williams quickly transitioned from guests to full-fledged station crew members, conducting experiments, fixing equipment and even spacewalking together. With 62 hours over nine spacewalks, Williams set a new record: the most time spent spacewalking over a career among female astronauts.

Both had lived on the orbiting lab before and knew the ropes, and brushed up on their station training before rocketing away. Williams became the station's commander three months into their stay and held the post until earlier this month.

Their mission took an unexpected twist in late January when President Donald Trump asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to accelerate the astronauts’ return and blamed the delay on the Biden administration. The replacement crew’s brand new SpaceX capsule still wasn’t ready to fly, so SpaceX subbed it with a used one, hurrying things along by at least a few weeks.

Even in the middle of the political storm, Wilmore and Williams continued to maintain an even keel at public appearances from orbit, casting no blame and insisting they supported NASA’s decisions from the start.

NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing after the shuttle program ended, in order to have two competing US companies for transporting astronauts to and from the space station until it's abandoned in 2030 and steered to a fiery reentry. By then, it will have been up there more than three decades; the plan is to replace it with privately run stations so NASA can focus on moon and Mars expeditions.

Both retired Navy captains, Wilmore and Williams stressed they didn’t mind spending more time in space — a prolonged deployment reminiscent of their military days. But they acknowledged it was tough on their families.

Wilmore, 62, missed most of his younger daughter’s senior year of high school; his older daughter is in college. Williams, 59, had to settle for internet calls from space to her mother. They’ll have to wait until they’re off the SpaceX recovery ship and flown to Houston before the long-awaited reunion with their loved ones.