On March 3, Prince Hisahito held his first-ever press conference to speak about his studies and official duties as a member of the imperial family. At 18, he is officially the first male member of Japan’s royal family to reach adulthood in nearly forty years.
Born on September 6, 2006, Prince Hisahito is the youngest child and only son of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko of Japan. As the nephew of Emperor Naruhito, Prince Hisahito’s father is the first in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne. That makes the teen prince second in line.
Before Prince Hisahito was born, the diminishing number of male heirs in Japan’s imperial family fueled a debate about whether or not absolute primogeniture should be adopted instead of agnatic primogeniture. Under the former, the oldest surviving child of the current ruler would be next in line for the throne. Agnatic primogeniture, on the other hand, excludes female descendants. Prince Hisahito’s birth put the debate on hold.
Prince Hisahito is the youngest of three, with two older sisters: Mako Komuro (who gave up her title after she married a commoner) and Princess Kako of Akishino. He entered the public eye for the first time on September 15, 2006, just nine days after his birth.
At his press conference, held at the Akasaka Estate residence in Tokyo, Prince Hisahito told reporters that he will be balancing his university education and official duties starting in April. He plans to study biology–dragonflies, in particular–at Tsukuba University.
Rather than being someone directly involved in politics, Prince Hisahito sees the emperor as a symbolic figure who “always thinks of the people and stays close to them.” The prince’s coming-of-age palace ceremony will take place on his 19th birthday, on September 6, 2025.