Who Is Hisahito - The Possible Heir To Japanese Throne After Emperor Naruhito?

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his family waved to a crowd of flag-waving New Year’s well-wishers gathered at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Friday.

Standing with Empress Masako and the rest of the royal family, he wished a happy new year to people below the palace balcony, some shouting "banzai"— Japanese for "long live."

It was the first time Naruhito’s nephew, Hisahito, attended as he now takes part in adult imperial events and is a possible heir to the Japanese throne.

He is second in line after his father, the emperor’s brother.

The annual New Year’s appearance by the emperor and his family draws huge crowds to the palace’s usually cloistered grounds in central Tokyo.

People weather the cold for each of the five imperial appearances during the day.

The emperor does not have political power in Japan, but holds symbolic significance.

He and his family are advocates for peace, although World War II was fought in the name of Naruhito’s grandfather Hirohito.

In a statement released in advance, Naruhito noted that last year marked 80 years since the end of that war.

He stressed the importance of the message of peace, given that war and strife continue in parts of the world.

In both the statement and comments Friday, he spoke about recent natural disasters such as earthquakes, heavy rainfall and snow, and forest fires.

In 2024, the annual appearance was canceled because of a New Year’s Day quake in the Noto Peninsula, a coastal area in central Japan, which killed hundreds of people. In 2021 and 2022, it was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Akihito, Naruhito’s father and emperor emeritus who abdicated in 2019, was also there with his wife Michiko, the emperor’s mother.