Member of the Imperial House of Japan and oldest son and heir to Emperor Akihito. As Crown Prince of Japan, he became involved in water conservation efforts and also served on the International Olympic Committee.
In his youth, he attended the Gakuishuin schools, the favorite educational system of the Japanese aristocracy. He earned undergraduate and master's degrees in history from Gakuishuin University and went on to study at Oxford University.
He learned to play both the violin and the viola.
He married Masako Owada in the early 1990s; the couple welcomed a daughter, Aiko, Princess Toshi, in late 2001.
His father, Emperor Akihito, began ruling Japan in the late 1980s.
