19-Year-Old Prince Hisahito Reaches Adulthood, Breaking 40-Year Male Gap In Japan’s Royal Family

Last Updated:September 07, 2025, 21:33 IST

Japan marks Prince Hisahito’s coming of age at the Imperial Palace as succession debates continue.

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)

Japan celebrated Prince Hisahito’s coming of age with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, amid ongoing concerns over a succession crisis.

The nephew of Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito, received a black silk and lacquer crown at Saturday’s ceremony in Tokyo, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life.

“Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony," the Guardian reported Hisahito as saying. “I will fulfil my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family."

Although the emperor has a daughter, 23-year-old Princess Aiko, she has been excluded from the line of succession due to the royal family’s male-only rules.

“As a young member of the imperial family, I am determined to fulfil my role," Hisahito said in March.

Second in line to the throne after his father, 19-year-old Prince Hisahito appeared at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace to pay respects to the gods and his ancestors.

Although tradition dictates that 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.

For decades, Japan has debated the royal succession, with a key government panel in 2005 recommending that it pass to the oldest child regardless of their sex.

That seemed to open the door for the emperor’s daughter to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, but the birth of Hisahito the following year ended the discussion.

Traditionalists have asserted that the “unbroken imperial line" of male succession is the foundation of Japan, and major changes would divide the nation. Under the postwar constitution, the royal family holds no political power.

Since royal daughters must leave the family upon marriage, one reform proposal suggests they could continue performing their public duties even after marrying.

Conservatives, meanwhile, are pushing for the royal household to bring distant relatives back to the fold.

This year, Hisahito said he has “not yet thought deeply" about his own marriage prospects, which could be complicated. Traditionally, women who marry into the royal family have faced immense pressure to bear sons and have often been the focus of persistent gossip.

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.

Emperess Emerita Michiko, Naruhito’s mother, also suffered stress-induced illnesses.

News world 19-Year-Old Prince Hisahito Reaches Adulthood, Breaking 40-Year Male Gap In Japan’s Royal Family

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