Prince Tomohito Of Mikasa

Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (寛仁親王, Tomohito Shinnō) was born on 5 January 1946 at the family home of Prince Mikasa. He was a member of the Imperial House of Japan and the eldest son of Takahito, Prince Mikasa, and Yuriko, Princess Mikasa. He was a first cousin of Emperor Akihito.

He was educated at Gakushuin University, where he graduated from the Department of Political Studies in the Faculty of Law in 1968. Following his university studies, from 1968 to 1970, he studied at Magdalen College, University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.

Prince Tomohito became engaged to Nobuko Asō on 21 May 1980. She was the third daughter of Takakichi Asō, former chairman of Asō Cement Co., and Kazuko, daughter of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. Nobuko Asō was granted the title HIH Princess Tomohito of Mikasa upon marriage. The two were married on 7 November 1980. They had two daughters: Princess Akiko, born on 20 December 1981 in Tokyo, and Princess Yōko, born on 25 October 1983 at the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, Tokyo.

The family resided within the Akasaka Estate complex in Moto-Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. In October 2009, Nobuko separated her residence from her husband and children.

Prince Tomohito participated in several public service activities, including serving on the organizing committee for the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics from 1970 to 1972, and on the committee for the 1975 Okinawa World Fair. He served as president and honorary president of various organizations related to cancer research, youth education, international relations, and welfare initiatives for individuals with physical or mental disabilities. He was involved in charitable visits abroad, including trips to the United States, Hawaii, Norway, Turkey, Australia, and Thailand, supporting medical and cultural development projects.

He authored seven books and contributed articles to newspapers and magazines. Notably, in December 1992, he and his wife visited the United States to support establishing a cancer ward at New York Medical College. In 1994, they visited Hawaii and Norway for various charitable and cultural purposes. He supported the establishment of a Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology at the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan and led benefactor tours of Turkey in 2002 and 2003. Additionally, he visited Australia in 1998 for medical science fundraising and attended the 13th Asian Games in Thailand the same year.

Health issues affected Prince Tomohito later in life. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1991, which went into remission, but was later diagnosed with cancer of the larynx in 2003. In 2006, he fractured his jaw due to weakened bones from chemotherapy. He publicly disclosed suffering from alcoholism in 2007 and received treatment. His cancer spread to his pharynx in 2008, leading to surgery and the use of a mechanical larynx for speech. He also suffered from pneumonia caused by swallowing difficulties.

Prince Tomohito died on 6 June 2012 from multiple organ failure at the Sasaki Institute Kyoundo Hospital in Tokyo, aged 66. His funeral was held at the Toshimagaoka Imperial Cemetery with approximately 660 attendees. In June 2013, the Imperial Household Agency announced that his family was integrated into the household led by his father.

Regarding the imperial succession debate, Prince Tomohito opposed proposals to revise the Imperial Household Law to allow women to ascend the throne, expressing concerns about the potential for male members to take concubines to produce male heirs—an assertion he later clarified as a joke.

He was honored with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum in 1966 and received the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1982. He also held an honorary degree from Ankara University and served in various honorary positions, including president of several welfare and cultural organizations.

Prince Tomohito was of direct patrilineal descent from the Japanese imperial family lineage.