Fumihito
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| Crown Prince Akishino | |
.jpg) Fumihito in 2025 | |
| Born | Fumihito, Prince Aya (礼宮文仁親王) (1965-11-30)30 November 1965 (age 59) Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Imperial House of Japan |
| Father | Akihito |
| Mother | Michiko Shōda |
| Religion | Shinto |
| Signature |  |
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Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino[1] (秋篠宮皇嗣文仁親王,Akishino-no-miya Kōshi Fumihito Shinnō; born 30 November 1965,Japanese:[ɸɯmiꜜçi̥to]) is theheir presumptive to theJapanese throne. He is the younger brother ofEmperor Naruhito, and the younger son ofEmperor Akihito andEmpress Michiko. Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title Prince Akishino (秋篠宮,Akishino-no-miya) and has headed the Akishino branch of theImperial House.[2]
Fumihito has abachelor's degree inpolitical science fromGakushuin University and aDoctor of Philosophy degree inornithology fromthe Graduate University for Advanced Studies. In 1990, he marriedKiko Kawashima, with whom he has three children:Mako,Kako, andHisahito. In November 2020, Fumihito was officially declared the heir presumptive to the throne, during the Ceremony for Proclamation of Crown Prince (Rikkōshi-Senmei-no-gi) inTokyo.[3] Preceding his investiture as Crown Prince, the ongoingJapanese imperial succession debate had resulted in some politicians holding a favorable view on rescindingagnatic primogeniture, which was implemented in 1889 and reinforced on theconstitution of Japan bythe Allies afterWorld War II. However, once Fumihito and Kiko had their son Hisahito in September 2006, he became next in the line of succession following his father. Fumihito's niece and Emperor Naruhito's only child,Princess Aiko, remains at present legally ineligible to inherit the throne, whiledebate about the possibility of having futureempresses regnant continues.
As active working members of the imperial family, Fumihito and his wife Kiko's schedule includes attendingsummits, and organisational and global event meetings. The couple have particularly represented the Japanese imperial house in ceremonies involvingheads of state andVIPs abroad.
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The prince was born on 30 November 1965 at 12:22 am in the Imperial Household Agency Hospital,Tokyo Imperial Palace. His given name is Fumihito. His mother,Empress Emerita Michiko, is a convert toShinto fromRoman Catholicism. His childhood appellation wasPrince Aya (礼宮 Aya-no-miya). He attended the kindergarten, primary and secondary schools of theGakushūin. He played tennis in primary and secondary schools of the Gakushūin.
In April 1984, the prince entered the Law Department ofGakushuin University, where he studied law and biological science. After graduating from the university with abachelor's degree inPolitical Science, he studied thetaxonomy offish atSt John's College, Oxford in theUnited Kingdom from October 1988 to June 1990. According toBritish government documents released by theNational Archives, Fumihito's requests to follow in his elder brother's footsteps and study in Britain were initially turned down by the Imperial Household Agency.[4]
Upon the death of his grandfatherEmperor Shōwa (Hirohito) on 7 January 1989, the prince became second-in-line to the throne after his elder brother,Crown Prince Naruhito.
The prince received aPhD degree inornithology from theGraduate University for Advanced Studies in October 1996. His doctoraldissertation was titled, "MolecularPhylogeny of Jungle Fowls,genusGallus andMonophyletic Origin of DomesticFowls". He conducted field research inIndonesia in 1993 and 1994, and inYunnan Province in thePeople's Republic of China.[citation needed] When the Emperor Emeritus was then Crown Prince, he introducedtilapia toThailand as an important source of protein. Tilapia can be easily cultured and Prince Fumihito, who is also known as a "catfish specialist," has managed to maintain and expand the aquacultural studies with the people of Thailand.[5] The prince has worked as a researcher atThe University Museum ofThe University of Tokyo where he also is an Honorary Fellow.[6]
Prior to Fumihito's birth, the announcement of the then-Crown Prince Akihito's engagement and marriage to the then-Ms. Michiko Shōda had drawn opposition from traditionalist groups, because Shōda came from aRoman Catholic family.[7] Although Shōda was neverbaptised, she was educated in Catholic schools and seemed to share the faith of her parents. Rumours also speculated the then-Empress Kōjun had opposed the engagement. After the death of Fumihito's paternal grandmother Empress Kōjun in 2000,Reuters reported that she was one of the strongest opponents of her son's marriage, and in the 1960s, had driven her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to depression by persistently accusing her of not being suitable for her son.[8]
On 29 June 1990, Fumihito marriedKiko Kawashima, the daughter of Tatsuhiko Kawashima (professor of economics atGakushuin University) and his wife, Kazuyo.[9]
The couple met when they were both undergraduates at Gakushuin University.[10][11] Like his father, the emperor emeritus, the prince married outside the former aristocracy and former collateral branches of the imperial family. Upon marriage, he received the title Prince Akishino (Akishino-no-miya – strictly "Prince Akishino") and authorisation from the Imperial Household Economy Council to form a new branch of the Imperial Family. The marriage was bitterly resented by officials at theImperial Household Agency, who had desired that the Prince should adhere to tradition and not marry before his elder brother.[11]
Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino have two daughters and one son:
Fumihito serves as the president of theYamashina Institute for Ornithology and the Japanese Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquariums. He is also the honorary president of theWorld Wide Fund for Nature Japan, theJapan Tennis Association, and the Japan-Netherlands Association.[2]
The prince and princess have made numerous official visits to foreign countries. In June 2002, they became the first members of the Imperial Family to visitMongolia, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations.[12][13] In October 2002, they visited the Netherlands to attend the funeral ofPrince Claus of the Netherlands.[14] In September 2003, they made goodwill visits toFiji,Tonga andSamoa, again, the first time ever members of the Imperial Family had visited these countries.[15][16] In March 2004, the prince and princess returned to the Netherlands for the funeral ofQueen Juliana of the Netherlands.[14] In January 2005, they visited Luxembourg to attend the funeral ofGrand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte.[14] From October to November 2006, they visited Paraguay to commemorate the 70th anniversary ofJapanese emigration to that country.[17] In January 2008, they visited Indonesia for a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Indonesia.[18]
The prince and princess visited Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania in May 2009 on the occasion of "Japan-Danube Friendship Year 2009"[19][20] and the Netherlands in August 2009 for the commemorative event of the 400th anniversary of the trade relations between Japan and the Netherlands.[21] They have also visited Costa Rica,[22] Uganda,[23] Croatia,[24] the Slovak Republic,[25] Slovenia,[26] Peru, and Argentina.[27][28]
In addition, Fumihito carried out public duties on behalf of the Emperor when he was hospitalised.[29] He and other members of the imperial family visited the affected areas after theGreat East Japan earthquake in March 2011.[29] From June to July 2014, Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko visited Republic of Zambia and United Republic of Tanzania.[30][31]
In accordance with legislation passed allowinghis father's abdication, he became heir presumptive to the throne on 30 April 2019. Once plans were announced for the impending abdication and his brother'senthronement, Fumihito suggested that instead of using public money the imperial family should pay for the religious rituals in the enthronement as the constitution separates religion and state, despite the government agreeing to foot the bill.[4] In June–July 2019, the Crown Prince and his wife carried out the first official overseas visit by the imperial family following the accession of Emperor Naruhito. They visited Poland and Finland to participate in the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relationship between Japan and the two countries.[32] In August 2019, the couple and their son, Hisahito, arrived inBhutan for a visit.[33]
The public proclamation of Fumihito as Crown Prince did not take place on 19 April 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. His accession as crown prince took place privately.[34][35][36] On 8 November 2020, Fumihito was formally declared first-in-line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.[37] During the ceremony he said "I will carry out my duties by deeply acknowledging my responsibilities as crown prince".[37]
His older brother during his time as Crown Prince carried the titleKōtaishi (Crown Prince, 皇太子 lit. "Great Imperial Son"), and was also referred by the Japanese press with this title until his accession to the throne. However Prince Akishino did not receive the titleKōtaishi as heir to the throne, apparently due to personal reluctance as not being raised as crown prince unlike his older brother, and chose the titleKōshi (皇嗣 lit. "Imperial Heir") instead.[38][39]
Italy: Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic[42]
Netherlands: Grand Cross of theOrder of the Crown[43]
Peru: Grand Cross of theOrder of the Sun[44]
Spain: Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Isabella the Catholic[45]
Paraguay: Grand Cross of theNational Order of Merit[46]
Media related toFumihito, Crown Prince Akishino at Wikimedia CommonsFumihito, Crown Prince of Japan Born: 30 November 1965 | ||
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