Fumihito, Prince Akishino
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is the
heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...
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 branch of the Imperial House.''Kunaicho''
personal histories
Fumihito has a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
from Gakushuin University and a
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in
ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
from
the Graduate University for Advanced Studies is one of the Japanese national university, national universities of Japan, headquartered in Shonan Village (湘南国際村) in the town of Hayama, Kanagawa, Hayama in Kanagawa Prefecture. , as it is generally called in its abbreviated form, wa ...
. In 1990, he married Kiko Kawashima, with whom he has three children:
Mako , better known by the mononym name Mako (sometimes stylised MAKO), is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actress, singing, singer and a member of the band Bon-Bon Blanco, in which her prominent role is as the maraca player. She has also perf ...
, Kako, and Hisahito. 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'') in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. Preceding his investiture as Crown Prince, the ongoing Japanese imperial succession debate had resulted in some politicians holding a favorable view on rescinding agnatic primogeniture, which was implemented in 1889 and reinforced 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 ...
by the Allies after
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. 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, while debate about the possibility of having future empresses regnant continues. As active working members of the imperial family, Fumihito and his wife Kiko's schedule includes attending
summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
s, and organisational and global event meetings. The couple have particularly represented the Japanese imperial house in ceremonies involving
heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
and VIPs abroad.


Early life and education

The prince was born on 30 November 1965 at 12:22 am in the Imperial Household Agency Hospital,
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 ...
. His given name is Fumihito. His mother, Empress Emerita Michiko, is a convert to
Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...
from
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. His childhood appellation was Prince Aya (礼宮 Aya-no-miya). He attended the primary and secondary schools of the Gakushūin. He played tennis in primary and secondary schools of the Gakushūin. In April 1984, the prince entered the Law Department of Gakushuin University, where he studied law and biological science. After graduating from the university with a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in
Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
, he studied the
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of
fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
at
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in the
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from October 1988 to June 1990. According to
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documents released by the
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, Fumihito's requests to follow in his elder brother's footsteps and study in Britain were initially turned down by the Imperial Household Agency. Upon the death of his grandfather Emperor 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 a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
degree in
ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in October 1996. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Molecular
Phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...
of Jungle Fowls,
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
Gallus and
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Origin of Domestic
Fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl ( Galliformes) and the waterfowl ( Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; toget ...
s". He conducted field research in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
in 1993 and 1994, and in
Yunnan Province Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
in the People's Republic of China. When the Emperor Emeritus was then Crown Prince, he introduced tilapia to
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
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. The prince has worked as a researcher at The University Museum of The University of Tokyo where he also is an Honorary Fellow. Prior to Fumihito's birth, the announcement about 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 a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
family. Although Shōda was never baptised, she was educated in Catholic schools and seemed to share the faith of her parents. Rumors also speculated that Empress Kōjun had opposed the engagement. After the death of Fumihito's paternal grandmother Empress Kōjun in 2000,
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reported that she was one of the strongest opponents of her son's marriage, and that in the 1960s, she had driven her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to depression by persistently accusing her of not being suitable for her son.


Marriage and children

On 29 June 1990, Fumihito married Kiko Kawashima, the daughter of Tatsuhiko Kawashima (professor of economics at Gakushuin University) and his wife, Kazuyo. The couple met when they were both undergraduates at Gakushuin University."Japanese Prince Plans To Marry A Commoner"
''
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''. 13 September 1989.
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 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 ...
, who had desired that the Prince should adhere to tradition and not marry before his elder brother.


Children

Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino have two daughters and one son: * ; formerly ; following her civil marriage to Kei Komuro on 26 October 2021, Mako gave up her imperial title and left the Imperial Family as required by 1947 Imperial Household Law. * *


Functions

Fumihito serves as the president of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology and the Japanese Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquariums. He is also the honorary president of the World Wide Fund for Nature Japan, the Japan Tennis Association, and the Japan-Netherlands Association. 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 visit
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In October 2002, they visited the Netherlands to attend the funeral of Prince Claus of the Netherlands. In September 2003, they made goodwill visits to
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
,
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and
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, again, the first time ever members of the Imperial Family had visited these countries. In March 2004, the prince and princess returned to the Netherlands for the funeral of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. In January 2005, they visited Luxembourg to attend the funeral of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte. From October to November 2006, they visited Paraguay to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Japanese emigration to that country. 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. The prince and princess visited Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania in May 2009 on the occasion of "Japan-Danube Friendship Year 2009" and the Netherlands in August 2009 for the commemorative event of the 400th anniversary of the trade relations between Japan and the Netherlands. They have also visited Costa Rica, Uganda, Croatia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Peru, and Argentina. In addition, Fumihito carried out public duties on behalf of the Emperor when he was hospitalised. He and other members of the imperial family visited the affected areas after the Great East Japan earthquake in March 2011. From June to July 2014, Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko visited Republic of Zambia and United Republic of Tanzania. In accordance with legislation passed allowing his 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's enthronement, 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. 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. In August 2019, the couple and their son, Hisahito, arrived in
Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
for a visit. The public proclamation of Fumihito as Crown Prince did not take place on 19 April 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. His accession as crown prince took place privately. On 8 November 2020, Fumihito was formally declared first-in-line to the Chrysanthemum Throne. During the ceremony he said "I will carry out my duties by deeply acknowledging my responsibilities as crown prince". His older brother during his time as Crown Prince carried the title ''Kōtaishi'' (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 title ''Kōtaishi'' as heir to the throne, apparently due to personal reluctance as not being raised as crown prince unlike his older brother, and chose the title ''Kōshi'' (皇嗣 lit. "Imperial Heir") instead.


Titles and honours


Titles and styles

* 30 November 1965 – 28 June 1990: His Imperial Highness Prince Aya * 29 June 1990 – 30 April 2019: His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino * 1 May 2019 – present: His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Akishino


Honours

* : Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...
* : Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun * : Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...
* : Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit


Honorary degrees

* Doctor of Fishery Biology ( Kasetsart University, 1995) * Doctor of Science ( Burapha University, 1995) * Doctor of Fisheries ( Khon Kaen University, 1999) * Doctor of Science ( Srinakharinwirot University, 2001) * Doctor of Science (
Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...
, 2001) * Doctor of Agriculture ( Ubon Ratchathani University, 2003) * Doctor of Fisheries Science ( King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, 2007) * Doctor of Animal Science ( Kasetsart University, 2011) * Doctor of Human and Environment Management ( Chiang Mai University, 2011) * Doctor of Science (Agricultural Technology) (
Thammasat University Thammasat University (TU; ; , ) is a public university, public research university in Thailand with campuses in the Tha Phra Chan area of Bangkok, Rangsit, Pattaya and Lampang Province. , Thammasat University has over 39,000 students enrolled in ...
, 2012) * Doctor of Biology ( Mahasarakham University, 2018)


Honorary positions

* Member of the Imperial House Council * President of Yamashina Institute for Ornithology * President of Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums * Patron of the Society for the Protection of Mitera Sennyuji * Patron of the Social Welfare Organization "Saiseikai" Imperial Gift Foundation Inc. * Patron of the Agricultural Society of Japan * Patron of the Japan Forestry Association * Patron of the Japan Association of Botanical Gardens * Patron of the Foundation for Academic Specimens of Domesticated Animals * Honorary President of
World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...
Japan * Honorary Patron of the Japan-Netherlands Society * Honorary Patron of Association for All Nippon Gourd Fanciers * Honorary President of Japan Water Prize Committee * Honorary President of the Waksman Foundation of Japan INC * Honorary Vice President of the Siam Society * Researcher Extraordinary of the University Museum, the University of Tokyo * Guest professor of Tokyo University of Agriculture * Honorary Associate of the Australian Museum


References


External links

*
Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino and their family
at the Imperial Household Agency website {{Authority control 1965 births Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Japanese ichthyologists Japanese ornithologists Japanese Shintoists 20th-century Shintoists 21st-century Shintoists Gakushuin University alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru Living people People from Chiyoda, Tokyo Children of Akihito Sons of Japanese emperors Heirs presumptive Crown princes Scientists from Tokyo