is a member of the

Imperial House of Japan The is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State ...

. She is the only child of Emperor Naruhito and

Empress Masako is Empress of Japan as the wife of Emperor Naruhito. Born in Tokyo, Masako was educated at Belmont High School in Massachusetts before attending Harvard College, earning a B.A., ''magna cum laude'', in economics. She also studied law at t ...

of Japan. Following her birth, the ongoing Japanese imperial succession debate had resulted in some politicians holding a favorable view on rescinding agnatic primogeniture (male-only imperial succession) originally implemented in 1889 and reinforced by the World War II allies on the

constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan is the supreme law of Japan. Written primarily by American civilian officials during the occupation of Japan after World War II, it was adopted on 3 November 1946 and came into effect on 3 May 1947, succeeding the Meij ...

. However, once her uncle and the current crown prince

Fumihito, Prince Akishino is the heir presumptive to the Japanese throne. He is the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, and the younger son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title and has headed the Akishino br ...

had his son, Hisahito in September 2006, Hisahito became second in the line of succession following his father. Aiko remains at present legally ineligible to inherit the throne and she cannot succeed her father, while debate about the possibility of having future empresses regnant continues.

Birth

Princess Aiko was born on 1 December 2001 at 2:43 PM in the Imperial Household Agency Hospital in

Tokyo Imperial Palace is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor h ...

, the first and only child of the then-Crown Prince and Crown Princess, Naruhito and Masako. In a break with tradition, the name of the princess was chosen by her parents, instead of by her grandfather, the Emperor

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

. It was selected from clause 56 of Li Lou II, one of the teachings of the Chinese philosopher

Mencius Mencius (孟子, ''Mèngzǐ'', ; ) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the Second Sage () to reflect his traditional esteem relative to Confucius himself. He was part of Confucius's fourth generation of disciples, inheriting ...

. Aiko, the princess' personal name, is written with the

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

characters for and and means "a person who loves others".Colin Joyce (2001-12-08).
Japan's princess named 'one who loves others'
". ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 8 December 2001. The princess also has an imperial title, , which means "a person who respects others".

Education

Princess Aiko began her education at Gakushūin Kindergarten on 3 April 2006. She left kindergarten on 15 March 2008 and then attended Gakushuin Primary School. On her eighth birthday, it was revealed her interests included writing kanji characters,

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

, jump rope, playing

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, and writing

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. In early March 2010, Aiko began to stay home from school due to being bullied by boys in her school. Aiko returned to school on a limited basis on 2 May 2010. After returning to school, a senior palace official said that she would attend a limited number of classes accompanied by her mother, upon advice from a doctor at the Crown Prince's household. In November 2011, Aiko was hospitalized with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. In 2014, she enrolled at the Gakushuin Girl's Junior High-school. In the summer of 2018, she made her first solo trip abroad to attend a summer program at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Reports from an unnamed palace source close to the family stated that Aiko provided her mother Masako with emotional support in her new role as empress. In February 2020 she was accepted at

Gakushuin University is a private university in Mejiro, Toshima, Tokyo. The Gakushūin (or "Peers School") was established during the Meiji period to educate the children of the Japanese nobility, but back then the institution had only the primary and secondary ...

where she majored in

Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. She graduated on 20 March 2024 and stated that she will "strive to balance my official duties and work... while fulfilling my duties as a member of the Imperial Family." She wrote her senior thesis on Princess Shikishi and her '' waka'' (poetry in classical Japanese literature).

Public life

From the age of 16, Aiko began accompanying her parents at public appearances. She was ineligible to attend any of her father's ascension ceremonies in person as she was still a minor at the time. On 15 September 2021, Aiko and her parents left the Akasaka Palace and moved to the

. On 5 December 2021, the Sunday after her 20th birthday, she participated in formal

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

ceremonies wearing a tiara borrowed from her aunt, Sayako Kuroda and was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown by her father, Emperor Naruhito. She attended the 2022 New Year celebration at the Imperial Palace as her first public event as a working member of the imperial family. Her first press conference took place on 17 March. Her next public outing was on 5 November, when she participated with her cousin Princess Kako of Akishino in a so-called "''

Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794–1185) arou ...

''" concert organized by the

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

. On 24 November, Princess Aiko visited an exhibition at the

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō wards of Tokyo, ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the , is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, prese ...

, with her parents. Aiko visited Ise Jingu offering '' tamagushi'' to

Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...

on 26 March and the mausoleum of Emperor Jimmu in Kashihara, Nara to inform his spirit of her graduation from university on 27 March. These were her first solo visits to the shrine and mausoleum. She began work at the Japanese Red Cross Society, of which her mother is honorary president, on 1 April 2024 after graduating from university. In October 2024 she made her first official solo Imperial visit. She attended a sports competition in the Saga prefecture.

Succession to the throne

The Imperial Household Law of 1947 abolished the Japanese nobility; under provisions of this law, the imperial family was streamlined to the descendants of

Emperor Taishō , posthumously honored as , was the 123rd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1912 until his death in 1926. His reign, known as the Taishō era, was characterized by a liberal and democratic shift in ...

."Life in the Cloudy Imperial Fishbowl,"
''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

''. 27 March 2007. The laws of succession in Japan prevent inheritance by or through women.

Debate

The birth of Princess Aiko sparked debate in Japan about whether the Imperial Household Law of 1947 should be changed from the current system of agnatic primogeniture to absolute primogeniture, which would allow a woman, as firstborn, to inherit the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions ...

ahead of a younger brother or male cousin. Although Imperial chronologies include ten empresses regnant as female monarchs in the course of Japanese history, their successors were always selected from amongst the members of the paternal Imperial bloodline, which is why some scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century. Though

Empress Genmei , also known as Empress Genmyō, was the 43rd monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 元明天皇 (43) retrieved August 22, 2013. according to the traditional order of succession. Genmei's reign spanned the years 707 through ...

was followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, Genshō's father,

Prince Kusakabe was a Japanese imperial crown prince from 681 until his death. He was the second son of Emperor Tenmu. His mother was the empress Unonosarara, today known as Empress Jitō. Kusakabe was the sole child of his mother. According to ''Nihon Shok ...

, was also a member of the imperial dynasty, as the son of

Emperor Tenmu was the 40th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. He ascended ...

, and therefore Genshō was a patrilineal descendant of the imperial bloodline. In addition, Empress Genshō herself was succeeded by her brother's son, thus keeping the throne in the same agnatic line; both Genshō and Genmei, as well as all other empresses regnant and emperors, belonged to the same

agnatic Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

line. A government-appointed panel of experts submitted a report on 25 October 2005, recommending that the Imperial succession law be amended to permit absolute primogeniture. On 20 January 2006,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Junichiro Koizumi used part of his annual keynote speech to address the controversy when he pledged to submit a bill to the Diet letting women ascend to the throne in order that the Imperial throne be continued into the future in a stable manner. Koizumi did not announce a timing for the legislation to be introduced nor did he provide details about the content, but he did note that it would be in line with the conclusions of the 2005 government panel.

Birth of male cousin

Proposals to replace agnatic primogeniture were shelved temporarily after it was announced in February 2006 that the-then Crown Prince's younger brother,

, and his wife, Kiko, Princess Akishino, were expecting their third child. On 6 September 2006, Princess Kiko gave birth to their first son, Hisahito, who was third in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the time of the birth under the current law, after his uncle, the then-Crown Prince, and his father, Prince Akishino. The prince's birth provided the first male heir to be born in the imperial family in 41 years. On 3 January 2007, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announced that he would drop the proposal to alter the Imperial Household Law. Surveys have shown 80% public support for a female succession. A ''

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

'' by Kobayashi Yoshinori called ''Aiko Tennō ron'' (愛子天皇論 "Princess Aiko as Emperor") has led to debates and also been circulated amongst the members of the National Diet.

Titles, styles and honours

The Japanese press refers to her with her short title "Toshi-no-miya" (Her Highness Princess Toshi) or full "Toshi-no-miya Aiko Naishinnō" (Her Highness Princess Toshi Aiko). In general amongst the people she is referred to as "Aiko- sama".

Titles and styles

Princess Aiko is styled as "Her Imperial Highness Princess Aiko". She also has an imperial title, .

Honours

National honours

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown (1 December 2021)

References

External links

Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress
at the Imperial Household Agency website

* ttp://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-okotoba/02/press/gokaito-h14-gotanjo01.html Press Conference on the occasion of the First Birthday of Her Imperial Highness Princess Aiko (2002) (Written Answers)
BBC News , Japan's new princess meets the public
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiko, Princess Toshi 2001 births Living people People from Chiyoda, Tokyo 21st-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese people Japanese Shintoists 21st-century Shintoists Gakushuin University alumni Grand Cordons (Imperial Family) of the Order of the Precious Crown Daughters of Japanese emperors