Japanese Prince Hisahito, son of Crown Prince Akishino, wearing ancient ceremonial costume, leaves for a ceremony by a carriage at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 as he celebrated his 19th birthday and attended the coming-of-age ceremony at the palace. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - Japan's newborn Prince Hisahito sleeps in the arms of his mother Crown Princess Kiko as he leaves a Tokyo hospital Sept. 15, 2006. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, Pool, File)
FILE - Japan's Prince Akishino, left, and his wife Princess Kiko, carrying their son Prince Hisahito, are welcomed by the staff of an imperial ranch in Takanezawa, north of Tokyo, March 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)
FILE - Japan's Prince Hisahito, 3, smiles as he holds a rabbit during his visit to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan, with his parents Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)
FILE - Japan's Prince Hisahito, wearing a traditional ceremonial attire, is accompanied by his parents, Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko, his sisters Princess Mako, left, and Princess Kako, right, after attending "Chakko-no-gi" ceremony to celebrate his growth and the passage from infancy to childhood, at the Akasaka imperial estate in Tokyo, Nov. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Issei Kato, Pool, File)
FILE - Japan's Prince Hisahito, center, accompanied by his parents Prince Akishino, left, and Princess Kiko, arrives at Ochanomizu University Elementary School for his entrance ceremony in Tokyo, Sunday, April 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, Pool, File)
FILE - Japan's Prince Hisahito, right, participates in a sports event at a primary school affiliated with Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, May 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)
FILE- Japan's Prince Hisahito, center, accompanied by his parents Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko pose for media after his graduation ceremony of a primary school affiliated with Ochanomizu University in Tokyo Friday, March 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
FILE- Japan's Prince Hisahito gestures as he poses for a photo before his entrance ceremony of Senior High School at Otsuka, the University of Tsukuba, Saturday, April 9, 2022, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
Japanese Prince Hisahito, son of Crown Prince Akishino, wearing ancient ceremonial costume, leaves for a ceremony by a carriage at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 as he celebrated his 19th birthday and attended the coming-of-age ceremony at the palace. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool Photo via AP)
Japanese Prince Hisahito is seen in ceremonial attire during his coming-of-age rites in the Imperial Palace on his 19th birthday in Tokyo on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)
Audio By Carbonatix
3:19 AM on Saturday, September 6
The Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prince Hisahito was formally recognized as an adult on Saturday in an elaborate ceremony steeped in imperial tradition. He could be the royal family's last heir.
The only son of Crown Prince Akishino, Hisahito, 19, is second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
With Japan’s male-only succession rules and shrinking royal family, the monarchy faces a looming crisis that mirrors Japan’s rapidly aging and shrinking population. The university freshman, passionate about dragonflies and urban ecology, shoulders the burden of a 1,500-year dynasty’s future.
Proposals to allow female emperors or adopt heirs from former royal branches have stalled, leaving Hisahito at the center of an unresolved national debate.
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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
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