Hisahito Comes of Age

Prince Hisahito of Akishino had his ever first press conference on March 3rd, taking opportunity of coming of age of 18. Recognizing his position as the second in line to the throne, Hisahito showed his willingness to take responsibility as a member of the imperial family. The topic extended from his personal interests to his future including marriage.

Born on September 6th, 2006, Hisahito was raised as the third child, and also as the first son, of Prince Akishino who is the younger brother of current Emperor Naruhito. As Naruhito does not have any male child, Hisahito is ranked as the second position to succeed to the throne, next to his father Akishino. The Article 1 of Imperial House Law determines that “The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by a male offspring in the male line belonging to the Imperial Lineage.”

 

Hisahito already had the eighteenth birthday in September 2024. It was the time for him to study very hard for college entrance examination this spring. As he passed the exam for University of Tsukuba to study biology, Hisahito decided to take questions from journalists who are interested in how the prince who is likely to sit on the throne is thinking about his own position.

 

Hisahito stressed his determination to be an adult member of the imperial house and hoped to sincerely take the role for him, while studying in the university. He interpreted the position of the symbolic emperor, which is provided in the constitution that the emperor is a symbol of the state, as an attitude of always thinking and approaching to the people. “It is important for the Imperial House to focus on life of the people and situation of the society,” said Hisahiso.

 

Hisahito introduced himself as a person who would be involved in what I am interested in. “The sun set down during I was watching dragonflies in the forest and around a pond in a summer afternoon. It often happened in my younger days,” said Hisahito. Interested in planting vegetables, he is interested in the relationship between plants and insects that live on them.

 

To a question about his idea on his marriage, Hisahito answered that he had not deeply thought about the timing and partner of his marriage. He also showed his interest in studying abroad, recognizing it as an opportunity to meet with a lot of people in the world and understand various cultures.

 

For his viewpoints, his father is precise in cooking, taking care of hardness of scramble egg, and his mother likes making syrup and jam using fruits in their family garden, He remembered the days when his sisters, former Princess Mako and Princess Kako, took care of him by reading books and playing around.

 

Regarding eightieth anniversary of the World War II, Hisahito expressed his heartache on loss of loved ones and other hardships of the people. He insisted on the importance of understanding each other, and hoped to study about peace through books and visits to historical places.

 

One of the issues in the Imperial House is how to share the role of the families in the system of succeeding to the throne in male line. The lawmakers have been discussing the issue with two options: keeping imperial status of female royals and return of patrilineal males through adoption. The conservative lawmakers, mainly in the Liberal Democratic Party, basically oppose the reform of the imperial house.

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