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For Prince Komatsu, see Prince Komatsu Akihito.
Akihito (明仁, born 23 December 1933) is the current Emperor (天皇 tennō) of Japan, and the 125th Emperor according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989, and is the 20th most senior monarch or lifelong leader. He is the world's only reigning monarch whose title is customarily translated into English as "Emperor".
[edit] NameIn Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to "His Imperial 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 renamed "Emperor Heisei" (平成天皇; 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] [edit] Biography  Akihito is the eldest son and the fifth child of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and Nagako (Kōjun). 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.[2] Unlike his precedents in the Imperial Family, he did not receive a commission as an Army officer, at the request from his father, Hirohito. 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 and Western manners by Elizabeth Gray Vining. He briefly studied at the Department of Political Science at Gakushuin University in Tokyo, though he never received a degree. 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 10 November 1952. In June 1953, Crown Prince Akihito represented Japan at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[2] Then-Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko made official visits to thirty-seven countries. As an Imperial prince, Akihito compared the role of Japanese royalty to that of a robot; and he expressed the hope that he would like to help in bringing the Imperial family closer to the people of Japan.[3] After the death of Emperor Shōwa on 7 January 1989, the crown prince received the succession (senso).[4] Emperor Akihito formally acceded to the throne (sokui)[4] on 12 November 1990.[2] In 1998, during a state visit to the United Kingdom, he was invested with The Most Noble Order of the Garter. To this date, Akihito is the only stranger Knight of the Garter who is of non-European descent.[5] On 23 December 2001, during his annual birthday meeting with reporters, the Emperor, in response to a reporter's question about tensions with Korea, remarked that he felt a kinship with Korean peninsula and went on to explain that in the Shoku Nihongi the mother of Emperor Kammu (736–806) was one of 10th descendants of the King of Baekje, Muryeong.[6] The Emperor also noted that Koreans who migrated to Japan in ancient times introduced some aspects of culture and technology to the country, and that the regrettable fact that Japan’s exchanges with Korea have not all been so friendly should never be forgotten. These remarks were reported and became headlines in the South Korean Media[7]. Emperor Akihito underwent surgery for prostate cancer in January, 2003.[8] 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.[2] [edit] Marriage and children
 On 10 April 1959, he married Miss Michiko Shōda (born 24 October 1934), the eldest daughter of Mr. Hidesaburo Shōda, the president and later honorary chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company.[2][9] The new Crown Princess was the first commoner to marry into the imperial family. The Emperor and the Empress have three children:
[edit] Official functions Despite being strictly 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, Emperor Shōwa. In June 2005, the Emperor visited the U.S. territory of Saipan, the site of one of the most brutal World War II battles from 15 June to 9 July 1944 (Battle of Saipan). Accompanied by Empress Michiko, he offered prayers and flowers at several memorials, honoring not only the Japanese who died, but also American soldiers, Korean laborers, 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, as were the Emperor's visits to war memorials in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Okinawa in 1995. On 6 September 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] Ichthyological researchIn extension of his father's interest in marine biology, the Emperor is a published ichthyological researcher, and has specialized studies within the taxonomy of the family Gobiidae.[10] He has written papers for publication in Japanese and English scholarly journals, namely Gene and the Japanese Journal of Ichthyology[11]. He has also written papers about Scientific History in Japan during the Edo and Meiji Eras, which were published in Science[12] and Nature[13]. In 2005 a newly described goby was named Exyrias akihito in his honour. [edit] Awards
Foreign Awards Other Awards [edit] Ancestors
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: 1933 births | Japanese emperors | Japanese Imperial Family | Reigning monarchs | Current national leaders | Japanese ichthyologists | Knights of the Elephant | Knights of the Golden Fleece | Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav | Knights of the Garter | Order of Leopold recipients | Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) | Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur | Living people | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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