Japanese Princess Aiko May Attend Summer School in Britain

May 31, 2018

Tokyo- Princess Aiko, the only child of Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, may participate in her high school's study program in Britain for about three weeks this summer, Imperial Household Agency sources said Thursday.

If realized, it would be the 16-year-old princess' first solo visit abroad.

The summer program, to be offered for about three weeks from late July and early August during the summer holiday period, will provide English education at Eton College, a famous public school in England.

Under the program, Princess Aiko, who is in the second year at Gakushuin Girls' Senior High School in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, is expected to attend English classes with other students from the school while staying at a dormitory and experience local culture, according to the sources.

The princess visited the Netherlands with her parents when she was 4 years old, but has never been abroad on her own.

Crown Prince Naruhito, who had a homestay in Australia when he was in junior high school, wants Princess Aiko to broaden her perspectives by studying abroad while she is young, according to the sources. Jiji Press