Prince Hisahito, a nephew of Emperor Naruhito and second in line to the throne, has been admitted to a high school known as a highly competitive state-run institution in Tokyo, the Imperial Household Agency said Wednesday.
The 15-year-old prince, the only son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, is the first member of the imperial family in the postwar era to enroll at a high school not affiliated with Gakushuin University, established in the 19th century as a school for aristocrats. Instead he will enter Senior High School at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba from April.
The prince is currently a third-year student at Ochanomizu University Junior High School and also attended the elementary school attached to Ochanomizu University. But the university's senior high school is a girls-only school.
Prince Hisahito and his parents thought highly of the Otsuka school's policy of valuing freedom and autonomy in making the decision, the agency said.
The admission was made through the junior high school's program that allows some of its students to proceed to senior high schools to which it has ties. The prince, who had had good enough grades to apply for the program, took an entrance exam on Sunday and passed it, according to the agency.
Crown Prince Akishino, known for his liberal education policy for his children, has said he talked with his son throughout the decision.
"(The prince) now sits at (his) desk much longer than a year ago," he told reporters last November.
The prince's two older sisters graduated from International Christian University in Tokyo.