In Photos: Emperor Naruhito's road to the Imperial Throne

Prince Hiro (Naruhito), born on Feb. 23, 1960, and his mother Crown Princess Michiko leave the Hospital of the Imperial Household in the Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo, on March 12, 1960. (Mainichi)

Five-month-old Prince Hiro (Naruhito) is thrown in the air by Crown Princess Michiko in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, in August 1960. (Photo courtesy of the Imperial Household Agency)

From left, Empress Nagako, Crown Prince Akihito, Crown Princess Michiko, Prince Hiro (Naruhito), Emperor Hirohito and Prince Yoshi (second son of Emperor Hirohito) gather to celebrate Prince Hiro's first birthday at the Imperial Palace in February 1961. (Photo courtesy of the Imperial Household Agency)

Prince Hiro (Naruhito), front row center, Crown Prince Akihito, front row second from left, and Crown Princess Michiko, front row third from left, watch a 1964 Tokyo Olympics athletic event at the National Stadium in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, on Oct. 21, 1964. (Mainichi)

Prince Hiro (Naruhito) grins about the birth of Prince Aya (Fumihito) at his residence at the Togu Palace on Nov. 30, 1965. (Pool photo)

From left, Crown Prince Akihito, Prince Hiro (Naruhito), Prince Aya (Fumihito) and Crown Princess Michiko depart Japanese National Railways Ueno Station in Tokyo for the town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, for their summer vacation, on July 25, 1966. (Mainichi)

Prince Hiro (Naruhito), rear, and Prince Aya (Fumihito) are seen at their residence in Tokyo's Minato Ward in April 1972. That month, the former went on to Gakushuin Boy's Junior High School and the latter entered Gakushuin Primary School. (Photo courtesy of the Imperial Household Agency)

Prince Hiro (Naruhito) is seen at his coming-of-age ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Feb. 23, 1980, his 20th birthday. (Photo courtesy of the Imperial Household Agency)

From left, Crown Prince Akihito, Prince Aya (Fumihito), Princess Nori (Sayako), Prince Hiro (Naruhito) and Crown Princess Michiko are seen in the garden of their residence in Tokyo's Minato Ward in November 1981. (Photo courtesy of the Imperial Household Agency)

Prince Hiro (Naruhito), center, watches the Wimbledon tennis championship final from the royal box at center court, in London, on July 8, 1984, during his overseas study trip to Britain. (UPI)

Prince Hiro (Naruhito) and his favorite singer Yoshie Kashiwabara enter the Tokyo Kosei Nenkin Kaikan hall for the latter's concert on Oct. 19, 1986. (Pool photo)

Prince Hiro (Naruhito), left, presents credentials to Japanese ambassadors to be posted at foreign embassies, at the "Matsu no Ma" room in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Oct. 6, 1987. The event was the first time the Prince had conducted an act in matters of state on behalf of the emperor, as Emperor Hirohito was in hospital and Crown Prince Akihito was visiting the United States at the time. (Photo courtesy of the Imperial Household Agency)

Masako Owada heads to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from her home in Tokyo's Meguro Ward in April 1988. (Mainichi)

Prince Hiro (Naruhito) throws out the ceremonial first pitch at the National High School Baseball Championship at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in the city of Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Aug. 8, 1988. (Mainichi)

New Crown Prince Naruhito welcomes Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia upon their arrival at Haneda Airport on Feb. 22, 1989, to attend the funeral of Emperor Hirohito. (Mainichi)

New Crown Prince Naruhito, right, expresses his determination to shoulder his new role, in front of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko after the Emperor proclaimed Naruhito the new Crown Prince, at the Rittaishi-no-Rei ceremony at the "Matsu no Ma" room in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, on Feb. 23, 1991. (Photo courtesy of the Imperial Household Agency)

Crown Prince Naruhito attends a ceremony to receive an honorary doctorate in law from Oxford University, on Sept. 18, 1991, during a visit to Britain. (Pool photo)

Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako are seen at the start of a procession following their wedding ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, on June 9, 1993. (Mainichi/Jun Sekiguchi)

Crown Prince Naruhito, left, and Crown Princess Masako prepare to present bouquets at the cenotaph for the victims of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Oct. 1, 1994. (Mainichi/Shozo Ushioda)

Newborn Princess Aiko and Crown Princess Masako accompanied by Crown Prince Naruhito leave the Hospital of the Imperial Household on the Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo, on Dec. 8, 2001. (Pool photo)

Princess Aiko climbs a tree while being supported by Crown Prince Naruhito, left, and Crown Princess Masako at their residence in Togu Palace on Nov. 17, 2004. (Photo courtesy of the Imperial Household Agency)

Crown Prince Naruhito, fourth from left, Crown Princess Masako, third from left, and Princess Aiko, second from left, visit a Dutch royal carriage house, guided by Dutch Queen Beatrix, left, and the family of Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, on Aug. 18, 2006. (Pool photo)

Crown Prince Naruhito, left, Princess Aiko, center, and Crown Princess Masako pose for a commemorative photo in front of the main entrance to Gakushuin Primary School before attending Princess Aiko's school entrance ceremony on April 10, 2008. (Pool photo)

Crown Prince Naruhito, third from left, and Crown Princess Masako, second from left, speak to survivors of the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake at an evacuation center in the city of Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture, on June 4, 2011. (Pool photo)

Crown Prince Naruhito makes a keynote lecture at the United Nations Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters at U.N. Headquarters in New York, on March 6, 2013. (Pool photo)

From right, Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako and Princess Aiko arrive at Kamikochi Bus Terminal, the venue of a ceremony to celebrate the first Mountain Day, in the city of Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, on Aug. 11, 2016. (Pool photo)

From left, Crown Princess Masako, Crown Prince Naruhito, Emperor Akihito, and Empress Michiko attend a concert held by high-ranking officials of the Imperial Household Agency to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Emperor's enthronement and the Imperial Couple's 60th wedding anniversary, at a hall in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, on April 2, 2019. (Pool photo)