Overview
- Prince Hisahito celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, and remains second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
- He is a second-year biology student at the University of Tsukuba who takes English and advanced biology courses, does summer fieldwork and lives near campus while balancing studies with royal life.
- Since completing formal coming-of-age rites last September, he has begun more public duties, including a palace banquet in May and solo prefectural visits that included laying flowers at Hiroshima’s A-bomb cenotaph in August.
- Japan’s Parliament enacted revisions to the Imperial House Law in July 2026 that keep succession limited to men, permit adoption of male descendants from distant former royal branches and let female royals retain status after marriage while excluding their spouses and children from royalty.
- Critics and some experts say the legal change pressures Hisahito and his eventual family to produce a male heir, fuels protests over Princess Aiko’s exclusion, and deepens debate about the long-term stability of the imperial household.