Japan hosts first coming-of-age ceremony for an imperial prince in nearly four decades

Read more: https://sc.mp/d87814

Prince Hisahito has become Japan’s first male royal family member to reach adulthood in almost four decades. Hisahito turned 18 on September 6, 2024, but the coming-of-age ceremony was delayed for a year so he could focus on his exams. It is a significant development for the royal family that has ruled for more than a millennium but faces the same existential problems as the rest of the nation – a fast-ageing, shrinking population. Hisahito, who is set to become the emperor one day, is the nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito. His father, Crown Prince Akishino, was the last to do so, in 1985. Hisahito is the youngest of the 17-member all-adult imperial family, which currently has only four men.