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Happy Birthday to Crown Prince Akishino of Japan, who turns 54 today! The second son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan, he is the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, and his childhood appellation was Prince Aya. Educated at the Gakushūin School, he studied law, biological science, and Political Science at Gakushuin University, before studying the taxonomy of fish at St John’s College, Oxford, and receiving a PhD degree in ornithology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in 1996. In 1990, he married Kiko Kawashima, receiving the title of Prince Akishino, and the couple have three children, including Prince Hisahito, the second-in-line to the Imperial Throne. After the Abdication of Emperor Akihito, Prince Akishino became the heir presumptive to his brother, the Emperor Naruhito, and has increased his official duties. We wish HIH a very Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!