Japanese Crown Princess Kiko turned 59 years old on September 11.

Her son, Prince Hisahito, recently completed his coming-of-age ceremony and subsequent visits to sacred sites.

Crown Princess Kiko said in an open letter on September 11 that she was relieved the events had finished.

She wrote that the family prepared for the event through discussions with Crown Prince Fumihito. She said she was deeply moved that the traditional imperial ceremony was passed from father to son, and that Prince Hisahito attentively performed his role on the occasion.

She said in the letter that she hopes Prince Hisahito will value each duty, fulfill his responsibility and walk his own path.

She also revealed that Prince Hisahito, who obtained his driver’s license in February, sometimes enjoys driving the Volkswagen Beetle inside the Akasaka Imperial Residence together with his father. The car has been cherished by Crown Prince Fumihito since his university days.

Crown Princess Kiko wrote that she felt that the memory of war does not just stay in the past but connects to the present, following her two visits to Hiroshima to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

Crown Princess Kiko, who also became a grandmother following her daughter Mako’s birth to her first child, said that the whole family was overjoyed.

She wrote that she hopes Mako and her family, who live in New York, can visit Japan when the child can travel further.