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 the younger brother and heir presumptive of the Emperor of JapanNaruhito and the younger son of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko. Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title Prince Akishino (秋篠宮, Akishino-no-miya) and has headed his own branch of the imperial family.[2]
As active working members of the imperial family, Fumihito and his wife Kiko's schedule includes attending summits, and organizational and global event meetings. The couple has particularly represented the Japanese imperial house in ceremonies involving heads of state 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 in Tokyo. His given name is Fumihito. His mother, Empress Emerita Michiko, is a convert to Shinto from Roman Catholicism. 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.
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.
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 family.[7] Although Shōda was never baptized, 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, Reuters 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.[8]
Marriage and issue
Fumihito and Kiko with their two daughters
On 29 June 1990, Fumihito married Kiko Kawashima, the daughter of Tatsuhiko Kawashima (professor of economics at Gakushuin 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 authorization 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, who had desired that the Prince adhere to tradition and not get married before his elder brother.[11]
Children
Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino have two daughters and one son:
Mako Komuro (小室 眞子, Komuro Mako, born 23 October 1991 at Imperial Household Agency Hospital in Tokyo Imperial Palace);[2] formerly Princess Mako (眞子内親王, Mako Naishinnō); 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.
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, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations.[12][13] In October 2002, they visited the Netherlands to attend the funeral of Prince Claus of the Netherlands.[14] In September 2003, they made goodwill visits to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, 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 of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands.[14] In January 2005, they visited Luxembourg to attend the funeral of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte.[14] From October to November 2006, they visited Paraguay to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Japanese 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 hospitalized.[29] He and other members of the imperial family visited the affected areas after the Great 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 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.[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 in Bhutan for a visit.[33]
The public proclamation of Fumihito as crown prince did not take place on 19 April 2020 due to the COVID-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]
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