On December 1, Aiko, the only child of the Emperor and Empress, celebrated her 20th birthday. Aiko is now a second-year student at Gakushuin University. Her birthday falls on a Thursday, and because she has classes at the university, her adult events were held on Sunday the 5th.
<figure id="attachment_218622" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2048px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-218622"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="321822ee"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/aflo_11372614.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-218622" class="wp-caption-text">Aiko was born on December 1, 2001, and the family was surrounded by happiness when she was discharged from the Imperial Household Hospital on December 8.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Thank you for being born.</h2>
Giving birth to a child is a very big event. Until the child is born, we hope that it will come safely into the world and into our hands.
When Aiko was born, Masako, who had become a mother, said, &#8220;Thank you for being born.
 &#8220;Thank you for being born.
She said. Aiko was born into this world as a happy baby. However, the process of her growth was not all &#8220;smooth.
 The whole country was in a celebratory mood at the birth of her long-awaited child. Eventually, however, rumors began to circulate that Aiko, who had not had many opportunities to appear in the mass media, might have a developmental delay.
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Midori Watanabe, an imperial family journalist who has been covering the imperial family for more than 60 years since the marriage of Empress Michiko, testifies, &#8220;When I saw the images that were being released, I thought, &#8216;Oh, my God.
 Midori Watanabe, an Imperial Family journalist who has been covering the Imperial Family for over 60 years since the marriage of Empress Michiko, testified, &#8220;There were reports that the images released to the public were &#8216;lacking in facial expressions&#8217; or &#8216;the videos are not being released because she cannot speak. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince and Princess Masako were very distressed by this.
Why would such an unprovoked &#8220;rumor&#8221; emerge? Why would such an untrue &#8220;rumor&#8221; emerge, or if it were true, what would it mean? As a parent and as a human being, it is not hard to imagine that she felt this way. My heart hurts when I think of the feelings of Masako&#8217;s mother as she faced raising her child for the first time.
<figure id="attachment_218623" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2200px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-218623"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="88dc6adb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/aflo_11903413.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-218623" class="wp-caption-text">The family in August 2003. At that time, Masako was suffering from health problems due to stress&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
 Perhaps because of this, a video with audio, which was unusual for information about the Imperial Family at the time, was released in the summer of 2004. It was in the summer of 2004, and it was very cute to hear Aiko&#8217;s voice skillfully reading a picture book called &#8216;Hide and Seek.
In 2006, Aiko entered Gakushuin kindergarten and visited the Netherlands in the summer of that year.
 Whenever she was in front of the camera, she would stiffen her body and her expression would become stiff, and it was said that she never smiled. The Dutch Royal Family and the Imperial Family have a deep friendship, and Masako must have been able to relax her mind.
 For Aiko, I believe that this summer was a great turning point, as she felt her mother&#8217;s presence and spent time with Princess Amalia, who is of the same generation.
For a young child, being in front of so many people and having so many cameras pointed at her is not something to be happy about. Until then, Aiko&#8217;s behavior was a natural reaction for a toddler.
In 2008, Aiko moved on to Gakushuin Elementary School.
 In her second year, she faced another challenge. In her second year, there was another ordeal: Masako had to adjust her schedule for field trips and even chaperone her to school. At this time, too, there was so-called bashing.
The media wrote about it in the tone of &#8220;Isn&#8217;t this spoiling her? On the other hand, some mothers who were raising their children said, &#8220;I would do the same thing to protect my children.
The family is fond of animals, and they have dogs and cats. Around this time, there was a pale tiger cat that wandered into the palace. Aiko is said to have named the cat &#8220;Ningen&#8221; and loved it. I wonder what must have been going through the mind of the girl who called her beloved cat &#8220;Ningen&#8221;.
 It must have been a difficult time for Masako, due to her own health condition. But the connection between the couple was strong, and above all, Aiko loves her mother.
Later, Aiko went on to study at Gakushuin Junior and Senior High School. Although her grades were good and some people thought she might choose to go to an external school, Aiko chose Gakushuin, her father&#8217;s alma mater. In April 2020, the year of the Covid-19 disaster, she will enter the Department of Japanese Language and Literature in the Faculty of Letters.
 Her mother, who became a diplomat after studying law at the University of Tokyo, could have chosen the University of Tokyo. However, she chose Gakushuin. She chose her father&#8217;s alma mater as a place of learning and joined the orchestra that her father also belonged to. Aiko really respects her parents. They must have a good family.
<h2>Raising a child as the &#8220;Emperor&#8217;s daughter</h2>
On the 5th, she showed off her long dress for the first time at an adult event. The tiara she wore was borrowed from Kiyoko Kuroda.
 She said that she borrowed the tiara from Kiyoko Kuroda, &#8220;There are some people who say that I borrowed the tiara. Aiko, the daughter of the emperor, wears a tiara made by Kiyoko, who was also the daughter of the emperor. If you think about the &#8216;prestige&#8217; of the Imperial Family, it is not at all unnatural.
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Aiko, the emperor&#8217;s daughter, has come of age.
 Aiko has grown into a wonderful princess with a dignity befitting her position. As an adult member of the Imperial Family, I look forward to her future activities.
In 1993, the 29-year-old Masako Owada became engaged to the then Crown Prince. With her slightly peculiar short cut and large almond-shaped eyes, she had a strong presence and retired from her illustrious career to join the Imperial Family. She endured the pressure of being the heir to the throne and overcame many difficulties. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Masako as well.
<figure id="attachment_218621" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1509px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-218621"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0dc1b596"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/aflo_54958983.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-218621" class="wp-caption-text">Her wedding parade. She chose to interrupt her illustrious career to enter into this marriage. Her decision on this day has borne rich fruit.</figcaption></figure>

 Reuters/Afro

 On December 1, Princess Aiko, the only child of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, celebrated her 20th birthday. Aiko is now a second-year student at Gakushuin University. The day of her birthday was a Thursday, and because of her "university classes," her adult events were held on Sunday, December 5.

A journalist who has been covering the imperial family looks back on the Blessing Trajectory of Princess Aiko, 20 years old.

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