Japan has heralded the coming of age of Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing.
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,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfil my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.”
Although the emperor has a daughter, Princess Aiko, the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only succession rules.
“As a young member of the imperial family, I am determined to fulfil my role,” Hisahito said in March.
Second in line to become emperor after his father, the 19-year-old appeared at the Tokyo palace to pay his respects to gods and ancestors.
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.
The event, held on Hisahito’s 19th birthday, reaffirms his position as second in line to the throne. Photograph: David Mareuil/Reuters
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.
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.
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.
The tradition that only a man can carry on the Japanese imperial line goes back 2,600 years, according to legend. Photograph: JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images
With royal daughters forced to leave the family after marriage, one modernising proposal would see them continue their public duties after their nuptials.
Conservatives, meanwhile, are pushing for the royal household to bring distant relatives back to the fold.
Hisahito said this year he has “not yet thought deeply” about his own marriage prospects, which could be challenging.
Historically, women who wed royals have faced intense pressure to produce sons and have become constant subjects of 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.
Prince Hisahito leaves the ceremony on a horse-drawn carriage. Photograph: JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images
Emperess Emerita Michiko, Naruhito’s mother, also suffered stress-induced illnesses.
Hisahito’s sister, Mako, married her university boyfriend, Kei Komuro.
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.
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 said.
“If people who are generally supportive [of female emperors] become a bit louder, then politicians can become more serious,” Kawanishi said.
“But when ceremonies end, society, including the media, calms down and moves on.”
AloJapan.com