Akihito

For the Japanese general, see Prince Komatsu Akihito.

Akihito 明仁
Emperor of Japan
Reign	7 January 1989 – present
Enthronement	12 November 1990
Predecessor	Shōwa
Heir apparent	Crown Prince Naruhito
Prime Ministers	See list Noboru Takeshita Sōsuke Uno Toshiki Kaifu Kiichi Miyazawa Morihiro Hosokawa Tsutomu Hata Tomiichi Murayama Ryutaro Hashimoto Keizō Obuchi Yoshirō Mori Junichiro Koizumi Shinzō Abe Yasuo Fukuda Taro Aso Yukio Hatoyama Naoto Kan Yoshihiko Noda
Spouse	Michiko
Detail Issue
Crown Prince Naruhito Prince Akishino Sayako Kuroda
House	House of Yamato
Father	Hirohito
Mother	Kōjun
Born	23 December 1933 (1933-12-23) (age 77) Tokyo, Japan
Religion	Shintoism

Akihito /akiçito/ (明仁^?, born 23 December 1933) is the Emperor of Japan (天皇, tennō^?), the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.

Name

In 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 Heisei tennō; see "posthumous name") by order of the cabinet after his death. At the same time, the name of the next era under his successor will also be established.^[1]

Biography

Akihito is the eldest son and the fifth child of Emperor Hirohito (the Showa Emperor) and Empress 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 predecessors in the Imperial Family, he did not receive a commission as an Army officer, at the request of 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 Tokyo Imperial Palace on 10 November 1952. In June 1953, Crown Prince Akihito represented Japan at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London.^[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 Hirohito 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.

Imperial Standard

Emperor Akihito underwent surgery for prostate cancer in January 2003.^[5] 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]

In response to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima I nuclear crisis, the Emperor made a historic televised appearance^[6] urging his people not to give up hope and to help each other. The Emperor had never been featured in a prerecorded televised message before, and so this event is historic and showed the scale of this disaster.^[7] The Emperor and the Empress also made a visit on Wednesday, 30 March 2011 to a temporary shelter housing refugees of the disaster, in order to inspire hope in the people. This kind of event is also extremely rare, though in line with the Emperor's attempts to bring the Imperial Family closer to the people.^[8]

Marriage and children

Imperial House of Japan

HIM The Emperor HIM The Empress HIH The Crown Prince HIH The Crown Princess HIH The Princess Toshi HIH The Prince Akishino HIH The Princess Akishino HIH Princess Mako of Akishino HIH Princess Kako of Akishino HIH Prince Hisahito of Akishino HIH The Prince Hitachi HIH The Princess Hitachi HIH The Prince Mikasa HIH The Princess Mikasa HIH Prince Tomohito of Mikasa HIH Princess Tomohito of Mikasa HIH Princess Akiko of Mikasa HIH Princess Yōko of Mikasa HIH The Prince Katsura HIH The Princess Takamado HIH Princess Tsuguko of Takamado HIH Princess Noriko of Takamado HIH Princess Ayako of Takamado

Monarchical styles of Emperor Akihito of Japan
Reference style	His Imperial Majesty
Spoken style	Your Imperial Majesty
Alternative style	Sir

The newly-married Crown Prince and Crown Princess in Japanese traditional attire, with the Prince wearing a sokutai, the Princess a jūnihitoe .

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan.

On 10 April 1959, he married Michiko Shōda (born 24 October 1934), the eldest daughter of 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:

• HIH The Crown Prince Naruhito (b. 23 February 1960, titled Hiro-no-miya or Prince Hiro),
• HIH The Prince Akishino (Fumihito, b. 30 November 1965, titled Aya-no-miya or Prince Aya) and
• Sayako Kuroda, formerly HIH The Princess Sayako (titled Nori-no-miya or Princess Nori, b. 18 April 1969).^[2]

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 Hirohito.

In June 2005, the Emperor visited the US territory of Saipan, the site of a battle in World War II 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.

The Emperor of Japan, at Chowaden Reception Hall, giving a New Year's address to the people of Japan in 2010.

Ichthyological research

In 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 scholarly journals, namely Gene and the Japanese Journal of Ichthyology.^[11]

He has also written papers about the history of science 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.

Awards

The Crown Prince and Princess on their wedding day with the Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun. The Emperor and Crown Prince wearing the Order of the Chrysanthemum and the Empress and Crown Princess wearing the Order of the Precious Crown.

National

• Collar and Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum
• Grand Cordon of The Order of the Rising Sun with the Paulownia Blossoms (renamed Grand Cordon of The Order of the Paulownia Flowers from 2003)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
• Order of Culture
• The Golden Medal of Merit of the Japanese Red Cross
• The Golden Medal of Honorary Member of the Japanese Red Cross

International

Country	Awards
Afghanistan	Order of the Supreme Sun
Austria	Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Grand Star
Bahrain	Order of al-Khalifa Collar
Belgium	Order of Leopold Grand Cordon
Botswana	Presidential Order
Brazil	Order of the Southern Cross Grand Collar
Cameroon	Order of Valour Grand Cordon
Chile	Order of the Merit of Chile Grand Collar
Colombia	Order of the Cross of Boyaca Grand Collar
Democratic Republic of the Congo	National Order of the Leopard Grand Cordon
Côte d'Ivoire	Order of the Ivory Coast Grand Cordon
Czech Republic	Order of the White Lion 1st Class (Civil Division) with Collar Chain
Denmark	Order of the Elephant Knight Grand Cross
Egypt	Order of the Nile Grand Collar
Estonia	Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Collar of the Cross[14]
Ethiopia	Order of Solomon Grand Collar
Finland	Order of the White Rose Grand Cross with Collar
France	Légion d'honneur Grand Cross
Germany	Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Cross, Special Class
Greece	Order of the Redeemer Grand Cross
Hungary	Order of Merit of Hungary Grand Cross
Iceland	Order of the Falcon Grand Cross with Collar
Indonesia	Star of Adipurna 1st Class
Italy	Order of Merit of the Republic Grand Cross with Cordon
Jordan	Order of Hussein ibn' Ali Collar
Kazakhstan	Order of the Golden Eagle
Kenya	Order of the Golden Heart
Kuwait	Order of Mubarak the Great Collar
Latvia	Order of the Three Stars Grand Cross with Collar
Liberia	Order of the Star of Africa Knight Grand Band Order of the Pioneers of the Republic Knight Grand Band
Lithuania	Order of Vytautas the Great the Great Grand Cross with Collar[15]
Luxembourg	Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau Knight
Malawi	Order of the Lion Grand Commander
Malaysia	Darjah Utama Seri Mahkota Negara
Mali	National Order Grand Cordon
Mexico	Order of the Aztec Eagle Grand Collar
Morocco	Order of Muhammad Grand Collar
Nepal	Order of Ojaswi Rajanya
Netherlands	Order of the Netherlands Lion Knight Grand Cross
Nigeria	Order of the Federal Republic Grand Cordon
Norway	Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Grand Cross with Collar
Oman	Order of Oman Superior Class
Pakistan	Nishan-e-Pakistan 1st Class
Panama	Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero Gold Collar
Peru	Order of the Sun Grand Cross in Brilliants
Philippines	Philippine Legion of Honor Chief Commander[16]
Poland	Order of the White Eagle
Portugal	Order of Prince Henry Grand Collar[17]
Qatar	Collar of Independence
Saudi Arabia	Badr Chain
Senegal	Order of the Lion Grand Cordon
South Africa	Order of Good Hope Grand Cross in Gold
Spain	Order of the Golden Fleece Knight
Sweden	Royal Order of the Seraphim Knight
Thailand	The Most Auspicious Order of the Rajamitrabhorn The Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri
The Gambia	Order of the Republic of Gambia Grand Commander
Ukraine	Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise First Class
United Arab Emirates	Collar of the Federation
United Kingdom	Stranger 984th Knight of Order of the Garter Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
Serbia and Montenegro	Order of the Yugoslav Star
Zaire	Order of the Leopard Grand Cordon

Other Awards

• The Royal Society King Charles II Medal

Ancestors

• Ancestry in Genealogics.org

Patrilineal descent

See also

• The Emperor's Birthday
• Imperial Household Agency
• Imperial Household of Japan
• Japanese era name
• List of Japanese Emperors
• List of longest reigning current monarchs

References

1. ^ "National Day of Japan to be celebrated". Embassy of Japan in Pakistan. 2007-12-07. http://www.pk.emb-japan.go.jp/PRESS/Press%202007/JPNEMPAK%2007-041,%20NATIONAL%20DAY%20OF%20JAPAN%20TO%20BE%20CELEBRATED.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress". Imperial Household Agency. 2002. Archived from the original on 2007-12-01. http://web.archive.org/web/20071201092521/http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e03/ed03-01.html. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 
3. ^ "Those Apprentice Kings and Queens Who May -- One Day -- Ascend a Throne," New York Times. 14 November 1971.
4. ^ ^{a b} Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 44.
5. ^ "Akihito has successful cancer operation". BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). 2003-01-18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2671271.stm. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 
6. ^ "Six days later, Japanese still confronting magnitude of quake crisis". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/16/japan.disaster/index.html?hpt=T1#. 
7. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/us-japan-quake-emperor-idUSTRE72F23520110316 Archived 16 March 2011 at WebCite
8. ^ http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/news_asia/2011-03-31/japanese-emperor-visits-evacuation-center.html
9. ^ Fukada, Takahiro, "Emperor — poise under public spotlight", Japan Times, November 24, 2009, p. 3.
10. ^ Hamilton, Alan. "Palace small talk problem solved: royal guest is a goby fish fanatic," The Times (London). 30 May 2007
11. ^ PubMed Search Results
12. ^ Akihito (Oct 1992). "Early cultivators of science in Japan". Science 258 (5082): 578–80. doi:10.1126/science.1411568. PMID 1411568. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=1411568. 
13. ^ His Majesty The Emperor of Japan (Jul 2007). "Linnaeus and taxonomy in Japan". Nature 448 (7150): 139–140. doi:10.1038/448139a. PMID 17632886. 
14. ^ "Akihito". Bearers of decorations. president.ee. http://www.president.ee/en/estonia/decorations/bearers.php?id=751. Retrieved 18 January 2011. 
15. ^ Decree 1K-974
16. ^ OPS.gov.ph
17. ^ "Cidadãos Estrangeiros Agraciados com Ordens Portuguesas" (in pt). presidencia.pt. http://www.ordens.presidencia.pt/?idc=154. Retrieved 6 January 2011. 

External links

• The Japanese Imperial Household Agency Homepage, press conferences, extensive biography, official duties and public activities.
• Complete transcript and audio mp3 and video of 'Do Not Lose Hope' Address to the Nation at AmericanRhetoric.com

Akihito House of Yamato Born: 23 December 1933
Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor Shōwa	Emperor of Japan 1989–present	Incumbent Heir apparent: Crown Prince Naruhito

Persondata
Name
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	23 December 1933
Place of birth	Tokyo, Empire of Japan
Date of death
Place of death