(Web Desk) - Japan’s Prince Hisahito, who turned 18 last week, became the first male from the royal family to reach adulthood in nearly four decades, casting a spotlight on the existential problems also facing the rest of the nation – an ageing population and declining birth rate.
Hisahito, who is the nephew of the present Japanese Emperor Naruhito, 64, is the youngest in his all-adult, 17-member imperial family. He is also one of the four men in the family and the second in line to the throne after his father, Crown Prince Akishino.
Akishino, 58, was the last male member of the family to reach adulthood in 1985. According to the existing Imperial Household Law, only men can succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
The only other member eligible to succeed is Emperor Naruhito’s uncle, Prince Hitachi, who is 88 years old and third in line to the throne.
This isn’t the first time that Japan’s succession has become such a talking point. From 2001 to 2006, there were several discussions in the Japanese parliament to consider amending the law and allowing women to succeed. This would have allowed Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s daughter, 22-year-old Princess Aiko, to ascend to the throne. But the debate was shelved after Hisahito’s birth in 2006.
Running out of heirs isn’t the only problem the royal family is facing. With several members of the family over 60, it also has a deficit of young royals who can perform duties such visiting schools, receiving ambassadors and dignitaries, as well as participating in traditional Japanese ceremonies.
In June this year, Emperor Naruhito made a rare public acknowledgment of the issue, saying: “The number of male members of the imperial family is decreasing, they are ageing, and female members of the imperial family leave the imperial family upon marriage.”
“Due to these factors, the number of members of the imperial family who can take on public duties is decreasing compared to before.
This is a problem that relates to the future of the imperial family, but I would like to refrain from commenting on matters related to the [legal] system.”
An ageing and shrinking population isn’t a crisis just plaguing Japan’s royal family, it’s one that looms over the entire country.
According to health ministry data, the number of births in Japan for the first half of the year dropped to the lowest since 1969.