BIRMINGHAM, Alabama --- Kiam Moriya is just one of thousands of people in the United States who will turn 12 on Wednesday --- 12/12/12.
But Kiam, who loves BMX bike racing, TaeKwonDo and "just about anything with wheels or blades," according to his mother, has a distinction few of the others share. Kiam was born at 12:12 p.m., on December 12, 2000.
He says his friends are skeptical when he tells them about the freakish alignment of 12s.
"Most of them didn't believe me," Kiam said.
But he has the facts on his side, as backed up by his New York state birth certificate.
There's even another 12 in the mix because of his parent's ties to Japan. Kiam's father, Kazuo Moriya, was born in Tokyo. His mother, Tamara Moriya, is executive director of the Japan-America Society of Alabama.
Tamara Moriya said Japanese people count the years by the number of years since the beginning of the reigning emperor. The year 2000 happened to be the 12th year of the reign of the current emperor, whose posthumous name will be Heisei. So the year 2000 was "Heisei 12."
Tamara Moriya said she plans to be at Joseph S. Bruno Montessori Academy, where Kiam is a 6th grader, on Wednesday to celebrate the special moment with her son.
Kiam said he's been aware of all the 12s associated with his birthday "ever since I've had my memory." He said he's looked forward to 12:12 p.m. Wednesday for a long time.
"It's like one minute out of a whole lifetime," Kiam said. "You know, it's all 12s."
Kazuo Moriya, who came to the United States at age 15, is a project manager for HTNA, an automotive manufacturing supplier in Jasper.
Kazuo Moriya is also a Presbyterian minister who is ordained in Japan and is involved in ministries at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Birmingham. He noted the significance of the number 12 in the Bible --- such as the 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles of Jesus.
He said he likes to think there's some spiritual significance to the timing of Kiam's birth. Kiam wasn't due until late January or early February but came seven or eight weeks early.
"Doctors didn't tell us exactly why," Kazuo Moriya said. "Just all of a sudden her water broke. Doctors couldn't tell us exactly why she had him so early."
Kiam weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces and spent about 10 days in an incubator, but was otherwise fine, his father said.
Kiam's parents say his knack for extreme sports surfaced early. His mother recalled when Kiam, at age 4, rode his bike over a jump ramp at a park in Homewood.
"With no training wheels, he went over the ramp, landed it and did like a 360 spin," she said. It was enough of a stunt to make some older kids ask, "How old is he?" she said.
This week, Kiam bounded around Veterans Park in Hoover on jump stilts before taking a break for an interview. Asked why he liked sports like biking, rollerblading and TaeKwonDo, he said, "Well, first of all, I'm a boy."
How many others were born the same minute as Kiam?
Some statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can give some perspective.
There were about 4 million babies born in the United States in 2000. Although the number of babies born daily would vary, the average would have been about 11,000 per day. Spread throughout the 1,440-minute day, that would be about eight babies in a given minute.
Instead of a cake to celebrate Kiam's birthday, the plan is to have Krispy Kreme donuts aligned in the shape of a 12.
"Donuts are awesome," Kiam said.
Asked what he thought about having all the 12s in his birthday, Kiam said it was "just cool."
"When I'm turning 12, it's going to be nothing but 12s," he said.