Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino (秋篠宮皇嗣文仁親王) is the younger brother and heir presumptive of the Emperor of Japan Naruhito and the younger son of Emperor emeritus Akihito and Empress emerita Michiko.

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.

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 in Political Science, he studied the taxonomy of fish at St John's College, Oxford in the United Kingdom from October 1988 to June 1990.

According to British government documents released by the National Archives, 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.

Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title Prince Akishino (秋篠宮) and has headed his own branch of the imperial family.

Fumihito has a bachelor's degree in political science from Gakushuin University and a PhD in ornithology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies.

In 1990, he married Kiko Kawashima, with whom he has three children: Mako, Kako, and Hisahito.

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.

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.

Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino have two daughters and one son:

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.

He conducted field research in Indonesia in 1993 and 1994, and in Yunnan Province in the People's Republic of China.

When the Emperor Emeritus was then Crown Prince, he introduced tilapia to Thailand 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 family.

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.

The prince received a PhD degree in ornithology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in October 1996.

His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Molecular Phylogeny of Jungle Fowls, genus Gallus and Monophyletic Origin of Domestic Fowls".

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.

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 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.

In November 2020, Fumihito was officially declared heir presumptive to the throne, during the Ceremony for Proclamation of Crown Prince (Rikkōshi-Senmei-no-gi) in Tokyo.

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 imposed by World War II allies on the constitution of Japan.