Akihito

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For Prince Komatsu, see Prince Komatsu Akihito.

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito
Emperor of Japan

Reign	7 January 1989 - Present
Born	December 23, 1933 (age 73)
	Tokyo, Japan
Predecessor	Emperor Hirohito
Heir-Apparent	Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
Consort	Empress Michiko of Japan
Issue	Prince Naruhito Prince Akishino Sayako Kuroda
Royal House	Chrysanthemum Throne
Father	Emperor Shōwa
Mother	Empress Kōjun

Akihito (明仁), KG, (born December 23, 1933) is the current Emperor (天皇, tennō^?) of Japan, the 125th person to hold that title, according to the traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989, and so is ranked 26th among the world's reigning monarchs and lifelong leaders; he is the world's only reigning monarch with the title of emperor.

In Japan, the Emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to simply as "His Majesty the Emperor" (天皇陛下, tennō heika^?), which may be shortened to "His Majesty" (陛下, heika^?). In writing, the Emperor is also referred to formally as "The Reigning Emperor" (今上天皇, kinjō tennō^?). The Era of Akihito's reign bears the name "Heisei" (平成), and according to custom he will be named "Emperor Heisei" (see "posthumous name") after his death by order of the cabinet, in which the name of the next Era under his successor will also be established.

1 Biography
2 Marriage and children
3 Life
4 Ancestors
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Biography

Akihito is the eldest son and the fifth child of the Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and the Empress Kōjun (Nagako). He is also first cousin once removed of Princess Bangja, the last crown princess of Korea. Titled Prince Tsugu (継宮, Tsugu-no-miya^?) as a child, he was raised and educated by his private tutors and then attended the Elementary and Secondary Departments of the Peers' School (Gakushuin) from 1940 to 1952. He was separated from his parents at the age of three.

During the American firebombing raids on Tokyo in March 1945, he and his younger brother, HIH Prince Masahito, were evacuated from the city. During the American occupation of Japan following World War II, Prince Akihito was tutored in English by Elizabeth Gray Vining. He briefly studied at the Department of Political Science at Gakushuin University in Tokyo, though he never received a degree. However, he later became an amateur specialist of ichthyology and published numerous papers and books about gobiid fish (In 2005 a newly described goby was named Exyrias akihito in his honour). Although he was heir-apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne from the moment of his birth, his formal Investiture as Crown Prince (立太子礼, Rittaishi-no-rei^?) was held at the Kokyo Imperial Palace on November 10, 1952.

In June 1953, Crown Prince Akihito represented Japan at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

Then-Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko made official visits to thirty-seven countries. The Crown Prince assumed the throne after the death of his father on January 7, 1989, thus becoming the 125th Japanese monarch, according to the traditional order of succession. Emperor Akihito was formally enthroned as the Emperor of Japan on November 12, 1990. In 1998, during a state visit to the United Kingdom he was invested with the The Most Noble Order of the Garter.

Since succeeding to the throne, Emperor Akihito has made an effort to bring the imperial family closer to the Japanese people. The Emperor and Empress of Japan have made official visits to eighteen countries, as well as all forty-seven Prefectures of Japan.

[edit] Marriage and children

Standard of the Emperor of Japan

On April 10 1959, he married Miss Michiko Shoda (born October 24, 1934), the eldest daughter of Mr. Hidesaburo Shoda, the president and later honorary chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company. The new Crown Princess was the first commoner to marry into the imperial family. The Emperor and the Empress have three children:

HIH The Crown Prince Naruhito (b. February 23, 1960),
HIH The Prince Akishino (Fumihito, b. November 30, 1965, titled Akishino-no-miya) and
Sayako Kuroda, formerly HIH The Princess Sayako (titled Nori-no-miya or Princess Nori, b. April 18, 1969).

[edit] Life

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan

On December 23, 2001, during his annual birthday meeting with reporters, the Emperor, in response to a reporter's question, remarked that he felt a "certain kinship with Korea,"^[1] and went on to explain his feeling as resulting from the fact that the mother of Emperor Kammu (736–806) was a descendant of Korean dynasty King Muryeong of Baekje as documented in Shoku Nihongi. The Emperor also noted that Koreans who migrated to Japan in ancient times introduced important aspects of culture and technology to the country, and then called upon his countrymen never to forget the regrettable fact that Japan’s exchanges with Korea have not all been so friendly.

In December of 2002, it was revealed that Emperor Akihito had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He underwent surgery for the condition soon after.

Despite being constrained by his constitutional position, he also issued several wide-ranging statements of remorse to Asian countries, for their suffering under Japanese occupation, beginning with an expression of remorse to China made in April 1989, three months after the death of his father, Hirohito.

In June 2005, the Emperor visited the U.S. territory of Saipan, the site of one of the most important World War II battles from June 15 to July 9, 1944 (Battle of Saipan). Accompanied by Empress Michiko, he offered prayers and flowers at several memorials, honouring not only the Japanese who died, but also American soldiers, Koreans forced to fight for Japan, and local islanders. It was the first trip by a Japanese monarch to a World War II battlefield abroad. The Saipan journey was received with high praise by the Japanese people, just as during the Emperor's visits to war memorials in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Okinawa in 1995.

On September 6, 2006, the Emperor celebrated the birth of his first grandson, Prince Hisahito, the third child of the Emperor's younger son. Prince Hisahito is the first male heir born to the Japanese imperial family in 41 years (since his father Prince Akishino) and could avert a possible succession crisis as the Emperor's elder son, the Crown Prince, has only one daughter, Princess Aiko. Under Japan's current male-only succession law, Princess Aiko is not eligible for the throne. The birth of Prince Hisahito could mean that proposed changes to the law to allow Aiko to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne will not go through after being temporarily shelved following the announcement of Princess Kiko's third pregnancy in February 2006.

[edit] Ancestors

**Akihito's ancestors in three generations**
Akihito	Father: Hirohito	Paternal Grandfather: Emperor Taishō	Paternal Great-grandfather: Emperor Meiji
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Official: Empress Shōken - Actual: Yanagiwara Naruko
		Paternal Grandmother: Empress Teimei	Paternal Great-grandfather: Prince Michitaka Kujō
			Paternal Great-grandmother:
	Mother: Empress Kōjun	Maternal Grandfather: Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi	Maternal Great-grandfather: Prince Kuni Asahiko
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Isume Makiko
		Maternal Grandmother: Princess Shimazu Chikako	Maternal Great-grandfather: Prince Shimazu Tadayoshi
			Maternal Great-grandmother:

[edit] References

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