{"id":6639,"date":"2025-09-06T14:19:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T14:19:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/japans-prince-hisahito-comes-of-age-as-succession-crisis-looms\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T14:19:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T14:19:33","slug":"japans-prince-hisahito-comes-of-age-as-succession-crisis-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/japans-prince-hisahito-comes-of-age-as-succession-crisis-looms\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s Prince Hisahito comes of age as succession crisis looms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Japan’s Prince Hisahito (R) attends his coming-of-age ceremony, Kakan-no-Gi, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on September 6, 2025. — AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

TOKYO: Japan on Saturday marked Prince Hisahito’s coming-of-age with a formal ceremony at the Imperial Palace, held against the backdrop of a looming succession crisis.<\/p>\n

The nephew of Emperor Naruhito was presented with a black silk and lacquer crown, symbolising the start of his adult life as a member of the imperial family.<\/p>\n

“Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming of age ceremony,” Hisahito said.<\/p>\n

“I will fulfil my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.”<\/p>\n

Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only succession rules.<\/p>\n

“As a young member of the Imperial Family, I am determined to fulfil my role,” Hisahito said in March.<\/p>\n

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Second in line to become emperor after his father, the 19-year-old will appear at the Tokyo palace to pay his respects to gods and ancestors.<\/p>\n

Although tradition dictates only a man can carry on the imperial line — which goes back 2,600 years according to legend — opinion polls have shown high public support for a woman taking the throne.<\/p>\n

“It makes no difference to me whether a woman becomes the emperor or a man does,” said Tokyo bartender Yuta Hinago.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old felt there could be “room for more flexibility” in the succession rules.<\/p>\n

Japan has debated the royal succession for decades, with a key government panel in 2005 recommending that it pass to the oldest child regardless of their sex.<\/p>\n

That appeared to pave the way for the emperor’s daughter to rise to the Chrysanthemum Throne, but Hisahito’s birth the following year silenced the debate.<\/p>\n

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Politicians have been slow to act, “kicking the can down the road,” and delaying a solution with youthful Hisahito in view, said Kenneth Ruoff, director of the Centre for Japanese Studies at Portland State University.<\/p>\n

Traditionalists have asserted that the “unbroken imperial line” of male succession is the foundation of Japan, and major changes would divide the nation.<\/p>\n

Under the post-war constitution, the royal family holds no political power.<\/p>\n

Pressure on women<\/h3>\n

With royal daughters forced to leave the family after marriage, one modernising proposal would see them continue their public duties after their nuptials.<\/p>\n

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Japanese Princesses send off Prince Hisahito, son of Crown Prince Akishino, as he leaves for a ceremony by a carriage at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on September 6, 2025. — AFP <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Conservatives, meanwhile, are pushing for the royal household to bring distant relatives back to the fold.<\/p>\n

But it is unclear if those men would be willing to give up their careers and freedom to continue the lineage.<\/p>\n

Hisahito said this year he has “not yet thought deeply” about his own marriage prospects, which could be challenging.<\/p>\n

Historically, women who wed royals have faced intense pressure to produce sons and have become constant subjects of gossip.<\/p>\n

Empress Masako, a former high-flying diplomat, struggled for years with a stress-related illness after joining the household, which some have put down to the pressure to have a boy.<\/p>\n

Emperess Emerita Michiko, Naruhito’s mother, also suffered stress-induced illnesses.<\/p>\n

Hisahito’s sister, Mako, married her university boyfriend Kei Komuro.<\/p>\n

She has faced intense tabloid reporting over claims that Kei’s family had run into financial difficulties, leading the former princess to develop complex post-traumatic stress disorder. The couple left for the United States, where they recently had a baby.<\/p>\n

Other members of the royal family are regular subjects of online and media gossip.<\/p>\n

Despite broad public support for changing the succession rules, away from the pageantry, people are focused on other issues, such as rising inflation, royal historian Hideya Kawanishi told AFP<\/em>.<\/p>\n

“If people who are generally supportive (of women emperors) become a bit louder, then politicians can become more serious,” said Kawanishi, an associate professor at Nagoya University.<\/p>\n

“But when ceremonies end, society, including the media, calms down and moves on.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Japan’s Prince Hisahito comes of age as succession crisis looms<\/sub><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japan’s Prince Hisahito (R) attends his coming-of-age ceremony, Kakan-no-Gi, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on September 6, 2025. — AFP TOKYO: Japan on Saturday marked Prince Hisahito’s coming-of-age with a formal ceremony at the Imperial Palace, held against the backdrop of a looming succession crisis. The nephew of Emperor Naruhito was presented with a…<\/p>\n

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