Prince Hisahito's Coming of Age ceremony set for Sept. 6
Prince Hisahito, the only son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, will attend a Coming of Age ceremony on Sept. 6, his 19th birthday, the Imperial Household Agency said Thursday.
The event will be the first Coming of Age ceremony for a male member of the Imperial Family since that of Crown Prince Akishino 40 years ago.
Japan's age of adulthood was lowered to 18 in a recent revision to the Civil Code, meaning that Prince Hisahito, second in line to the throne, became an adult when he turned 18 last September. But his ceremony was postponed as he focused on his studies before entering university.
The prince, currently a third-year student at the University of Tsukuba's Senior High School at Otsuka in Tokyo, is set to enter the national university in Ibaraki Prefecture in April.
The coming-of-age ceremony schedule was decided "in consideration of Imperial Family event plans and his life after entering university," Yasuhiko Nishimura, grand steward of the agency, told a news conference.
The ceremony will be held during the prince's summer break from school.
According to the agency, the ceremony will be hosted by his parents. Following the precedents of Emperor Naruhito and Crown Prince Akishino, it will include a ritual for receiving a crown for an adult Imperial Family member, a crowning ritual and a ritual for greeting the Emperor and Empress Masako.
It is customary for Imperial Family members to receive the Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum on the day of their Coming of Age ceremonies. After his ceremony, Prince Hisahito will attend palace events as an adult member of the Imperial Family.
The prince is set to hold his first news conference Monday.
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