Japanese prince turns 3

6 Sep

悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito), the youngest prince in the Japanese royal family, turned three today.

He is third in line to become the Emperor of Japan.
Next in line behind the current emperor is the Emperor’s oldest son (Prince Hisahito’s uncle) Prince Naruhito, and second in line is the Emperor’s youngest son (Prince Hisahito’s father) Prince Akishino.

If the current Emperor’s oldest son (Prince Naruhito) had a son, he would be in line to the throne before 悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito)…but he has a daughter (Princess Aiko) and no other children.

And 悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito) has two older sisters, but no brothers.

So before 悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito) was born, the Japanese government was in a quandary about who would succeed the throne.
They considered changing the law to allow Japan to be headed by a female empress, so that Princess Aiko could eventually take the throne…but her cousin 悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito) was born, so that issue became moot.

悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito) was born on 2006 Sept 6.

悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito) was born on 2006 Sept 6.

悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito) now at age 3.

悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito) now at age 3.

4 Responses to “Japanese prince turns 3”

  1. Tornadoes28 September 7, 2009 at 2:22 am #

    Prince Akishino needs a haircut.

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    • tokyo5 September 7, 2009 at 11:03 am #

      Yes, and so does his son. 😉

      Like

  2. gigihawaii September 7, 2009 at 1:24 am #

    What a cute boy! The Japanese people are very good looking — at least from what I saw when I was in Tokyo last year. Also very courteous to foreigners like me and my husband.

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    • tokyo5 September 7, 2009 at 1:56 am #

      Yes, Japanese people are excellent hosts to visitors…and also excellent visitors when they go overseas.

      Like

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