Prince Hisahito, first royal male to reach adulthood in Japan in 4 decades

For the Japanese royal family, who have governed for more than a millennium, this is a momentous event.

Only four men remain in the 17-member, all-adult imperial family, of which Hisahito is the youngest

Hisahito is the nephew of Emperor Naruhito of Japan and is destined for the throne in the future. In 1985, Prince Akishino, his father, was the last male in the family to achieve adulthood.

Given that empresses are not allowed by the system, his position as the last heir apparent presents a significant challenge. The government is discussing ways to maintain steady succession without depending on females.

The 1947 Imperial House Law only permits a man to succeed to the throne and requires female royal members who marry commoners to renounce their royal position.

This law essentially upholds traditional pre-war family values.

The public's favourite for the future empress is his older cousin Princess Aiko, the only child of Naruhito, and his wife Masako, a former diplomat who studied at Harvard University. But even though Masako is descended directly, the current legislation prevents her from assuming that role.

As soon as Hisahito was born in 2006, a previous plan to permit an empress following Aiko's birth was abandoned.

Prince Hisahito was born on September 6, 2006, and is a third-year student. Currently, he is attending Senior High School at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba.

Hisahito stated, "Right now I would like to cherish my remaining time in high school."

The statement also added that he has long been interested in insects and has even co-authored an academic paper on a survey of dragonflies on the grounds of his Akasaka estate in Tokyo.

To stop the imperial family's population from declining, a panel of experts, who were commissioned by the largely conservative government in January 2022 suggested that the government should consider allowing female members to maintain their royal status after marriage while adopting male descendants from now-defunct royal families to carry on the male lineage with distant relatives.

Critics argue that those steps would be ineffective as long as the male-only succession is upheld since they relied largely on concubines for this in the pre-modern era.