In November 2020, Fumihito was officially declared heir presumptive to the throne, during the Ceremony for Proclamation of Crown Prince (Rikkōshi-Senmei-no-gi) in Tokyo.

[3] Preceding his investiture as Crown Prince, the ongoing Japanese imperial succession debate had resulted in some politicians holding a favorable view on rescinding agnatic primogeniture, which was implemented in 1889 and reinforced on the constitution of Japan by the Allies after World War II.

Fumihito's niece and Emperor Naruhito's only child, Princess Aiko, remains at present legally ineligible to inherit the throne, while debate about the possibility of having future empresses regnant continues.

As active working members of the imperial family, Fumihito and his wife Kiko's schedule includes attending summits, and organizational and global event meetings.

The couple has particularly represented the Japanese imperial house in ceremonies involving heads of state and VIPs abroad.

After graduating from the university with a bachelor's degree in Political Science, he studied the taxonomy of fish at St John's College, Oxford in the United Kingdom from October 1988 to June 1990.

According to British government documents released by the National Archives, Fumihito's requests to follow in his elder brother's footsteps and study in Britain were initially turned down by the Imperial Household Agency.

[citation needed] When the Emperor Emeritus was then Crown Prince, he introduced tilapia to Thailand as an important source of protein.

Tilapia can be easily cultured and Prince Fumihito, who is also known as a "catfish specialist," has managed to maintain and expand the aquacultural studies with the people of Thailand.

The marriage was bitterly resented by officials at the Imperial Household Agency, who had desired that the Prince adhere to tradition and not get married before his elder brother.

[29] He and other members of the imperial family visited the affected areas after the Great East Japan earthquake in March 2011.

[4] In June–July 2019, the Crown Prince and his wife carried out the first official overseas visit by the imperial family following the accession of Emperor Naruhito.

They visited Poland and Finland to participate in the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relationship between Japan and the two countries.