Princess Akiko Of Mikasa

Princess Akiko of Mikasa (彬子女王, Akiko Joō), born on December 20, 1981, is a member of the Imperial House of Japan. She is a paternal second cousin of Emperor Naruhito and the elder daughter of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa and Princess Tomohito of Mikasa (née Nobuko). She is also related to notable figures in Japanese and international history, being a niece of Japan's 92nd Prime Minister Tarō Asō (her maternal uncle), a great-niece of author and literary critic Ken'ichi Yoshida, and a great-granddaughter of Japan's 45th Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.

In September 2025, Princess Akiko assumed the role of head of the Mikasa-no-miya branch of the imperial family. She holds the distinction of being the first woman who was a princess by birth to succeed as head of a branch of the imperial family since Princess Sumiko.

**Education**

Princess Akiko graduated from Gakushuin University in Tokyo with a bachelor's degree in History. During her studies, she spent the 2001–2002 academic year at Merton College, Oxford, as a study abroad student majoring in Japanese art history. In 2004, she returned to the University of Oxford as a doctoral candidate within the Faculty of Oriental Studies. Her research focused on the William Anderson Collection at the British Museum, exploring Western interest in Japanese art during the nineteenth century. Anderson (1842–1900) was an English surgeon who taught anatomy and surgery in Japan and became an important scholar and collector of Japanese art.

She participated in exhibitions and symposiums related to Japanese art, including assisting the University of Tokyo in opening an exhibition on Japonism in December 2006 and taking part in a symposium at Ochanomizu University in July 2007. Between January and May 2008, she conducted research at the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture in Hanford, California. She completed her doctoral studies at Merton College in January 2010, earning a Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) degree from the University of Oxford in 2011. She is noted as the second member of the Japanese imperial household to earn a doctorate, following Prince Fumihito, who attained a PhD in Ornithology in 1996.

**Career**

Post-PhD, Princess Akiko worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Kinugasa Research Organization at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto from October 2009 to March 2012. Subsequently, she held multiple academic positions at Ritsumeikan University, including Special Invited Associate Professor (2012–2013), visiting associate professor (2013–2014), and visiting researcher (2014). She served as a visiting researcher at Hosei University’s Research Center for International Japanese Studies starting in May 2012. From April 2013, she was the president of Shinyusha, a general incorporated association. In April 2014, she became a Guest Research Fellow at the Archive Research Center of Kyoto City University of Arts and was inaugurated as president of the Ski Instructors Association of Japan.

Her academic roles also include positions as research fellow at Kyoto Sangyo University’s Institute of Japanese Culture, visiting fellow at Gakushuin University’s Global Exchange Organisation for Research and Education (GEORE), and a special guest professor at Kokugakuin University. She is the president of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan.

**Public Appearances and International Engagements**

Princess Akiko’s first notable international trip was in July 1998 to Turkey, organized by her grandfather’s affiliated organization. After reaching adulthood in 2001, she began participating in official ceremonies across Japan and made various overseas visits. Notable excursions include a heritage tour in Turkey in 2003, attending the Kaman-Kalehöyük Archaeological Museum opening in 2010, and visiting Austria for the 19th INTERSKI Congress in 2011.

In 2013, she was part of Japan’s delegation supporting Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics, visiting Argentina and Chile, where she met with government officials, toured archaeological sites, and engaged with local communities. In April 2014, she visited Turkey, participating in a memorial concert and supporting cultural ties. She has also represented Japan at martial arts events, notably attending the Fifth World Butoku Sai in Kyoto in May 2016, the first time in its history she participated.

Her visits to Turkey in 2018 included meetings with officials and cultural site visits. In September 2025, during a diplomatic visit to Ankara hosted by First Lady Emine Erdoğan, she discussed archaeological excavations and cultural exchange activities, including collaborations related to the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology and new excavation projects at the Ayanlar Höyük site in Şanlıurfa.

**Household and Personal Life**

Following the death of her father, Prince Tomohito, in June 2012, Princess Akiko hosted his funeral. In 2013, the Imperial Household Agency announced the integration of her father’s household into that of his father, in line with household restructuring within the Imperial Family. In September 2025, with the passing of her grandmother, Princess Mikasa, she became the head of the Mikasa-no-miya branch, establishing a separate household for her mother.

**Health**

On December 6, 2013, during a visit to Japan from India, Princess Akiko collapsed at Haneda Airport and was hospitalized with cerebral anemia. Her health issues have also included asthma and high fever, leading to hospitalization in Kyoto in 2017 and again in July 2022, where she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and related symptoms.

**Honours and Recognitions**

She is a Member of the 2nd Class (Peony) of the Order of the Precious Crown. She has received honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Letters from Kokushikan University in 2018 and an honorary degree from Chiba Institute of Technology in 2024.