Japan’s Crown Prince Hisahito Turns 18

(ANSA) – ROME, SEPTEMBER 7 – Prince Hisahito, the first male royal in Japan to reach adulthood in 40 years, has turned 18, paving the way for his ascension to the throne as the future emperor of Japan. The international media are highlighting this. The young son of Akishino, the latter being the brother of Emperor Naruhito and first in line, is the youngest of the imperial family of 17 adult members, which currently has only four men. The problem of the rapid aging of the population is also affecting Japan’s most prominent family, on the throne for over a millennium, so much so that the government is discussing how to keep the succession stable without having to rely on women, in compliance with a 1947 law that allows only a man to succeed to the throne and forces women of the empire who marry commoners to lose their royal status. Public opinion is pushing for a radical change, targeting Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Naruhito and his wife Masako, a former diplomat who graduated from Harvard. However, the norm and tradition entrust the succession, in the second instance, to Hisahito, born in 2006. “Right now I would like to focus on the time I have left in high school,” Hisahito said in a statement. He has long been interested in insects and collaborated on an academic article on dragonflies. (ANSA).