He Prince Hisahito of Japanwho has just turned 19, has become the first male of the imperial family to reach the age of majority in the last four decades.
His formal entry into adulthood was celebrated with elaborate palatial rituals this Saturday, but behind the ceremonial splendor a disturbing reality is hidden: it could be the last man in the line of succession to the throne of the chrysanthemum.
The oldest monarchy in the world faces a Heirs crisis due to its strict exclusively male succession policy.
Hisahito is the second in the line, after his father, the heir prince Akishino, but after him there is practically no male successor, which has revived the debate on whether Japan should reverse the norm of the nineteenth century that eliminated the female succession.
A prince with passion for insects
Biology student at the University of TsukubaHisahito is a reserved young man, lover of the Bádminton and with a special fascination with the dragonflies. He has even co -written an academic article on these insects in the gardens of his Akasaka residence, in Tokyo.
In his first press conference, in March, he confessed that he wishes to focus his studies on the protection of insects on urban environments. Son of Prince Akishino and Princess heiress Kiko, is also the brother of Princess Kako and former Princess Mako, who renounced her title by marrying a common citizen.
A line of succession in danger
Hisahito is the nephew of Emperor Naruhito, whose only descendant is Princess Aiko.
Although much of the population supports the idea that she can become Empress, the current law of the Imperial House, heiress of the norms of 1947, prevents it from restricting the succession only to men.
The situation is critical: only his father and he are viable male heirs, while Prince Hitachi, third in the line, is 89 years old. The shortage reflects both the demographic aging of the country and the limits of a succession system that In the past it was sustained thanks to imperial concubineseliminated a century ago.
A paralyzed debate
Although Japan had eight emperatrices in its historythe last one in the 18th century, the possibility that a woman occupies the throne remains a cause of political division. In 2005, the government came to propose a reform that allowed an empress, but the birth of Hisahito stopped the initiative.
In 2022, a panel of experts recommended maintaining the male succession and suggested that women retain their real status after marrying, in addition to adopting male descendants of old imperial branches. However, the discussion has stagnated in Parliament, while social pressure grows to find a solution.
The weight of an uncertain future
The Yomiuri conservative newspaper has recently asked to review the law to allow princess husbands and children to receive real status and that women can inherit the throne. For many, more than a gender dilemma, it is about the survival of the institution that symbolizes the unity of the Japanese people.
With only 19 years, Prince Hisahito not only loads his university studies, but also with the uncertainty of being, perhaps, The last man destined to carry the crown of the oldest monarchy in the world.
With New York Post information
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