Prince Hisahito turned 20 on Sunday as he faces growing attention as a future monarch in Japan following the government’s unpopular revision to the
Imperial House Law that reinforces male-only succession rules.
Hisahito, the nephew of
Emperor Naruhito, is second in line to Japan’s 1,500-year-old Chrysanthemum Throne and the youngest of 16 members of the rapidly shrinking and aging imperial family.
The child who loved animals and bugs, especially dragonflies, is now a sophomore majoring in biology at the University of Tsukuba near Tokyo. He has been often spotted on campus with friends, sometimes carrying a bug-catching net or on his bicycle.
