The suspect in custody for placing knives at Prince Hisahito’s school desk at his school in Tokyo has reportedly admitted that he planned to stab the Prince. The suspect, 56-year-old Kaoru Hasegawa, was arrested on 29 April for trespassing, placing the knives on Prince Hisahito’s school desk and making disparaging remarks about Japan’s Imperial system. All school desks have a piece of tape with the name of the student, making Prince Hisahito’s desk easily identifiable.
Prince Hisahito, now second-in-line to the Imperial throne after his father, attends the Ochanomizu University Junior High School and he was not at his desk when Hasegawa managed to enter the building disguised as a construction worker. The police also found evidence that Hasegawa had tried to knock out the school’s surveillance system by cutting wires.
Prince Hisahito does have his own protection officers, but they do not accompany him inside school classrooms, according to the Imperial Household Agency. Prince Hisahito only just began at this school, and he attended the entrance ceremony on 9 April, alongside his parents, Fumihito, Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko.
During the ceremony, His Imperial Highness, dressed in his navy school uniform, made a pledge on behalf of around 110 new students saying, “We’d like to develop our individual abilities and broaden our possibilities and perspectives.”
Before the ceremony, the Prince told reporters, “From now on, I’d like to lead a fulfilling student life.”
The Prince is now second in line to the Japanese throne after the accession of his uncle, then Crown Prince (now Emperor) Naruhito on 1 May. Prince Hisahito’s father, Prince Akishino became the new heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Japan does not allow for women to rule in their own right meaning the Japanese Imperial Family is increasingly shrinking. There are now only three people in the line of succession: Prince Akishino, Prince Hisahito, and 83-year-old Masahito, Prince Hitachi – the younger brother of Emperor Emeritus Akihito.
