Prince Hisahito took part in his first press conference on March 3, after turning 18 in September last year. Here we look back at the childhood of the young prince, who is second in line to the throne.
Prince Hisahito was born on September 6, 2006, to Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko (currently the crown prince and princess). He was the first boy born in the imperial family for 41 years, and as Japan’s Imperial House Law only allows male successors to the throne, he is currently second in line after his father. Unless the law changes, as the only male member of his generation in the family, he is expected to become emperor one day.
Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko with Prince Hisahito as a baby, after leaving the hospital on September 15, 2006. (© AFP/Jiji)
Prince Hisahito joins a kindergarten affiliated with Ochanomizu University in April 2010. (© Jiji; pool photo)
In November 2011, Prince Hisahito takes part in the traditional ceremony known as the chakko-no-gi for children in the imperial family around the age of five. He stands in front of his parents, with his elder sisters Princess Mako (far left) and Princess Kako (far right). (© Jiji)
Prince Hisahito joins Ochanomizu University Elementary School in April 2013. (© AFP/Jiji)Prince Hisahito entered Ochanomizu University Junior High School in April 2019. Following his grandfather Akihito’s abdication, his uncle became Emperor Naruhito on May 1 and Hisahito became second in line to the throne. In August of the same year, during the summer vacation he made his first overseas trip with his parents to Bhutan, where he participated in a courtesy visit to the king and queen.
Prince Hisahito riding a mule in Bhutan at the age of 12. (Courtesy Imperial Household Agency; © Reuters)Hisahito joined a high school attached to the University of Tsukuba in April 2022, where he became part of the badminton club. Following his eighteenth birthday in September 2024, when he officially became an adult, he gave his first press conference in March 2025. From April, he will study biology at the University of Tsukuba; he has shown a keen interest in insects from a young age.
Prince Hisahito feeds a horse in Takanezawa, Tochigi, on March 26, 2009. (© Jiji)
Prince Hisahito observes a slime mold sample at Minakata Kumagusu Museum in Shirahama, Wakayama, on December 5, 2017. (© Jiji; pool photo)
Observing nature at the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo on August 10, 2018. (Courtesy Imperial Household Agency; © Reuters)On September 6, Prince Hisahito will have an official coming-of-age ceremony. While this event is normally held for imperial family members on the day they become an adult, in this case, it was decided to hold it one year later, on Hisahito’s nineteenth birthday, so as not to interfere with his high school studies. After the ceremony, he will take part in imperial family activities as an adult.
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Prince Hisahito at his first press conference on March 3, 2025. © Kyōdō; pool photo.)
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