Princess Aiko, daughter of Emperor Naruhito, leaving for her first solo trip to Laos in November 2025
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There are certain rites of passage for every young royal, and the first official overseas trip is undoubtedly one of them – so Princess Aiko of Japan must have felt a degree of trepidation when she set off for her debut solo state visit to Laos earlier this month. She needn’t have worried, however: the 23-year-old daughter of Emperor Naruhito is touring Tokyo’s small beneficiary in South-East Asia on a largely symbolic visit, and has so far impressed with her maturity and clear sense of duty.
Princess Aiko is due to spend a week in country to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Laos and Japan, during which time she has a jam-packed schedule – including a meeting with President Thongloun Sisoulith, a visit to a museum and watching a martial arts competition. Smiling at every engagement and wearing a variety of elegant outfits (from traditional Laotian dress to a powder blue skirt suit, borrowed from her mother) she has dazzled during the trip.
Princess Aiko meeting with Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith in Vientiane in November 2025
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Japan is known to send younger members of the royal family on goodwill missions across South-East Asia, as a gesture of soft power to build up long-term connections that transcend politics. Certainly, Princess Aiko is a natural choice to conduct such engagements, given her huge popularity in Japan – but this most recent successful trip is likely to raise the question once more of why she cannot take on a more prominent royal role going forward.
Japan is currently facing a so-called ‘succession crisis’, as the Emperor and his wife, Empress Masako, have not produced a son. Due to strict, male-only succession laws, Prince Hisahito of Akishino – the only son of Emperor Naruhito’s brother, Crown Prince Fumihito – is second in line to the throne after his father. He’s often touted as the future of the Japanese royal family as the only viable heir among his generation, due to an 1947 Imperial House Law in Japan that bars women from inheriting the throne. Because of these conservative regulations, Princess Aiko cannot rule the country.
AloJapan.com