Princess Aiko Graduates From Junior High School

March 22, 2017 – Princess Aiko, 15, the daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, attended a graduation ceremony at Gakushuin Girls’ Junior High School earlier today.

Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako also attended the ceremony, held at the school’s gymnasium in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

From April, Princess Aiko will attend Gakushuin Girls’ Senior High School in the same ward.

Ahead of the ceremony, Princess Aiko posed for photographs in front of the school gate, accompanied by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. When reporters congratulated her on her graduation, Princess Aiko replied smiling, “Thank you.”

Asked about her thoughts about her junior high school days, Princess Aiko remarked, “I enjoyed the past three years thanks to my teachers and friends.”

In her essay contributed to a collection of graduating students’ essays and released by the Imperial Household Agency, Princess Aiko recalled her visit to Hiroshima during a school trip and wrote, “‘Peace’ is not something to be left up to other people to build, but to be established by each individual with their thoughts and responsible actions.” She also wrote about her wishes for a world without nuclear weapons.