TOKYO - Prince Hisahito, born September 6, 2006, recently marked his coming-of-age, becoming the first male member of the Japanese imperial family to do so in 40 years. The event has spotlighted the shrinking number of potential heirs adn ignited debate over the future of the world’s oldest continuous monarchy.
Hisahito is the son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, and nephew to Emperor Naruhito, who has one child, a daughter, Princess Aiko. He is currently a student at Tsukuba University, studying biology with a particular interest in dragonflies – a passion reflected in his nickname, “the prince of dragonflies,” and his participation in academic papers surveying dragonfly populations. In a March press conference, he expressed a desire to focus his studies on insects and their conservation in urban environments.
The prince’s maturity ritual was delayed a year after reaching legal adulthood at 18 to allow him to focus on college entrance examinations. He has two older sisters, Kako and Mako, the latter of whom relinquished her royal status upon marrying a commoner.
Hisahito is currently second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne. However, with a limited number of male heirs – he and his father, Akishino, are the only two younger than Emperor Naruhito – concerns are growing that he may be the last emperor under the current succession laws, which restrict the throne to male members of the imperial family. Prince Hitachi, the former Emperor Akihito’s younger brother, is a more distant third in line at 89 years old. This situation has prompted discussion about possibly revising the 19th-century Imperial House Law to allow female succession.
