Prince Hisahito becomes the first royal male in Japan to reach adulthood in 4 decades.

TOKYO (AP) — In a big milestone for Japan's royal family, Prince Hisahito turned 18 on Friday, becoming the first male royal family member to reach adulthood in almost four decades. It is a significant development for a family that has ruled for more than a millennium but faces the same existential problems as the rest of the nation — a fast-aging, shrinking population.

Hisahito, who is set to become the emperor one day, is the nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito. His father, Crown Prince Akishino, was the last to do so, in 1985.

Hisahito is the youngest of the 17-member all-adult imperial family, which currently has only four men.

His status as the last heir apparent poses a major problem for a system that doesn't allow empresses. The government is debating how to keep succession stable without relying on women.

The 1947 Imperial House Law, which largely preserves conservative pre-war family values, only allows a male to succeed to the throne and forces female royal members who marry commoners to lose their royal status.

His older cousin, Princess Aiko, the only child of Naruhito and his wife Masako, a Harvard-educated former diplomat, is the general public’s favorite as the future empress. But the existing law forbids Masako to take over that role even though she comes from a direct line of descent.

The succession chart can get confusing: Naruhito is the emperor. His brother, Akishino, is second in line. Hisahito, the son of Akishino, comes next.

An earlier proposal to allow an empress after Aiko’s birth was shelved as soon as Hisahito was born in 2006.

“Right now I would like to cherish my remaining time in high school," Hisahito said in a statement. He has long been interested in insects and even co-authored an academic paper on a survey of dragonflies on the grounds of his Akasaka estate in Tokyo, the statement said.

A largely conservative government-commissioned panel of experts in January 2022 recommended that the government propose allowing female members to keep royal status after marriage as a way to prevent the declining population within the imperial family, while adopting male descendants from now-defunct royal families to continue the male lineage with distant relatives.

Critics say those measures would have a limited effect as long as the male-only succession is maintained because it was workable largely with the help of concubines in the pre-modern era.

FILE- Japan's Princess Aiko greets guests during the spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace imperial garden Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE- Japan's Emperor Naruhito, from left, Empress Masako and their daughter Princess Aiko wave to well-wishers from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - Japan's Prince Hisahito, wearing a traditional ceremonial attire, is accompanied by his parents, Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko, his sisters Princess Mako, left, and Princess Kako, right, after attending "Chakko-no-gi" ceremony to celebrate his growth and the passage from infancy to childhood, at the Akasaka imperial estate in Tokyo, Nov. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Issei Kato, Pool, File)

FILE - Japan's Prince Akishino, left, and his wife Princess Kiko, carrying their son Prince Hisahito, are welcomed by the staff of an imperial ranch in Takanezawa, north of Tokyo, March 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

FILE - Japan's newborn Prince Hisahito sleeps in the arms of his mother Crown Princess Kiko as he leaves a Tokyo hospital Sept. 15, 2006. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, Pool, File)

In this photo provided by Japan's Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Prince Hisahito, the son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, is pictured at the Akasaka Palace imperial garden in Tokyo, July 15, 2024. Hisahito turned 18 on Friday, Sept. 6. (Imperial Household Agency of Japan via AP)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is safe following what the FBI says "appears to be an attempted assassination” while playing golf two months after another attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Local authorities said the U.S. Secret Service agents protecting Trump fired at a man pointing an AK-style rifle with a scope as Trump was playing on one of his Florida golf courses in West Palm Beach.

Here are five things to know about what happened Sunday to the Republican presidential nominee.

Law enforcement officials said the man who pointed the rifle and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh. The officials identified the suspect to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Records show Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving in 2018 to Kaaawa, Hawaii, where he and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business.

Routh frequently posted on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to Kyiv to join the fight against the Russian invasion. In June 2020, he made a post on X directed at then-President Trump to say he would win reelection if he issued an executive order for the Justice Department to prosecute police misconduct. That year, he also posted in support of the Democratic presidential campaign of then-U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who has since left the party and endorsed Trump.

However, in recent years, his posts suggest he soured on Trump, and he expressed support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

In July, following the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania, Routh urged Biden and Harris to visit those wounded in the shooting at the hospital and to attend the funeral of a former fire chief killed at the rally.

Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic Party primary in March 2024. Federal campaign finance records show Routh made 19 small political donations totaling $140 since 2019 using his Hawaii address to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates.

Records show that while living in Greensboro, North Carolina, Routh had multiple run-ins with law enforcement. He was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, according to online North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records.

The records do not provide details about the case. But a News & Record story from 2002 says a man with the same name was arrested after a three-hour standoff with police. The story says he was pulled over during a traffic stop, put his hand on a gun and barricaded himself inside a roofing business. He owned the roofing company, according to state incorporation filings.

Local authorities said the gunman was about 400 yards to 500 yards away from Trump and hiding in shrubbery while the former president was playing a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

Ric Bradshaw, sheriff of Palm Beach County, said that when people get into the shrubbery around the course, “they’re pretty much out of sight.” Bradshaw said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump were the sitting president, but because he’s not, “security is limited to the areas the Secret Service deems possible.”

Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some of his peers because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again. His security was bolstered days before the July assassination attempt in Pennsylvania because of a threat on Trump’s life from Iran, U.S. officials said.

In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!”

His running mate, JD Vance, and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said they spoke with Trump after the incident, and both said he was in “good spirits.” Trump also checked in with several Fox News hosts.

Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close friend of the former president's, said on air that he spoke with Trump and his golf partner, Steve Witkoff, afterward. They told Hannity they had been on the fifth hole when they heard a “pop pop, pop pop.” Within seconds, he said Witkoff recounted, Secret Service agents “pounced on” Trump and “covered him” to protect him.

Moments later, Witkoff said, a “fast cart” with steel reinforcement and other protection was able to whisk Trump away.

Hannity said Trump’s reaction after this happened — and when it was clear that everyone, including Witkoff, was safe — was to quip that he was sad he hadn’t been able to finish the hole since he “was even and had a birdie putt.”

Harris, Trump's Democratic opponent in the presidential election, posted on X that she had been briefed on the reports of gunshots fired.

“I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”

The White House said President Joe Biden and Harris would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House added it was “relieved” to know Trump is safe.

Trump has not announced any changes to his schedule and is set to speak live on X on Monday night from his Mar-a-Lago resort to launch his sons’ crypto platform.

Meanwhile, the leaders of a congressional bipartisan task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump said they have requested a briefing by the Secret Service.

“We are thankful that the former President was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms,” Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said in a statement. They said the task force will share updates.

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who is part of the task force, said he “will seek answers about what happened today and then.”

Ryan Wesley Routh holds up a banner during a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)

Photos that show an AK-47 rifle, a backpack and a Go-Pro camera on a fence outside Trump International Golf Club taken after an apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, are displayed during a news conference at the Palm Beach County Main Library, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephany Matat)

This photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows Sheriff's vehicles surrounding an SUV on the northbound I-95 in Martin County on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)