Prince Hisahito of Japan is the first male royal to reach adulthood in 40 years, he could be the last

Japan's Prince Hisahito has become the first male royal to reach adulthood in 40 years and he could be the last. This comes from the male-only succession policy of the world's oldest monarchy.

The bleak state of affairs is shown as the palace has organised elaborate rituals to recognise Hisahito as an adult on Saturday.

Hisahito is second in line to the throne and is likely to become the king one day. However, after him, there is no one yet, which could leave the imperial family in dilemma over the whether they should reverse a 19th century ruling that abolished female succession.

Hisahito is a fresher at Tsukuba University near Tokyo. He studies biology and enjoys playing badminton, according to an AP report. He has also co-authored a paper on survey of dragonflies on the grounds of his Akasaka estate in Tokyo.

In his first press conference in March, the prince had said he wants to study dragonflies and other insects, including ways to protect bug populations in urban areas.

Hisahito was born on September 6, 2006, and is the only son of Crown Prince Akishino, the heir to the throne, and his wife, Crown Princess Kiko. However, he has two older sisters, the popular Princess Kako and former Princess Mako, whose marriage to a nonroyal required her to abandon her royal status.

He may be the last emperor

Hisahito is the nephew of Emperor Naruhito, who has a daughter, Princess Aiko. Hisahito's father, Akishino, the Emperor's younger brother, was the last male to reach adulthood in the family, in 1985. Currently, the 16-member royal family is compsed of all adults.

He and his father are the only males younger than the current emperor. Prince Hitachi, former emperor Akihito's younger brother, is third in line to the throne but is already 89. No male successors is a concern for the monarchy, which historians claim has lasted for over 1,500 years.

The issue reflects Japan's rapidly aging and shrinking population.

Japan traditionally has had male emperors but female successors were permitted. There have been eight female emperors, including the most recent Gosakuramach,i who ruled from 1762 to 1770. None of them, however, produced an heir during their reign.

In 1889, succession was legally limited to males by the prewar Constitution. The post-war 1947 Imperial House Law, which largely preserves conservative prewar family values, also only allows male succession.

Hugely popular Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, cannot be her father's successor, even though she is supported by much of the public as a future monarch.

The government proposed to allow a female emperor in 2005 but Hisahito's birth changed the tide and nationalists turned against the proposal.

A largely conservative panel in January 2022 recommended calling on the government to maintain its male-line succession while allowing female members to keep their royal status after marriage and continue their official duties.

They also proposed adopting male descendants from now-defunct distant royal families to continue the male lineage.

However, the conservative Yomiuri issued its own proposal in May, calling for an urgent revision to the Imperial House Law to give royal status to husbands and children of princesses and allow women to succeed the throne.

(With inputs from AP)