Akihito

Biography

Akihito was born at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in December 1933, the eldest son of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kōjun. He attended the Peers' School (Gakushūin) from 1940 to 1952, was evacuated from Tokyo during the American firebombing of 1945, and during the occupation was tutored in English by Elizabeth Gray Vining. He later studied political science at Gakushuin University without taking a degree.

He was formally invested as crown prince in November 1952, and in 1953 he represented Japan at the coronation of Elizabeth II. In April 1959 he married Michiko Shōda, a commoner; the wedding was the first imperial wedding shown on Japanese television and drew about 15 million viewers. They had three children, including the future Emperor Naruhito.

Akihito became the 125th emperor on his father's death on 7 January 1989, beginning the Heisei era, and was enthroned in November 1990. He made repeated expressions of remorse for the suffering caused by Japanese occupation in Asia, became the first Japanese emperor to visit China in 1992, and travelled to all 47 prefectures. Like his father he pursued marine biology, publishing research on the taxonomy of gobies.

In a rare televised address in August 2016 he spoke of his age and declining health, which was taken as a wish to retire. He abdicated on 30 April 2019 in favour of Naruhito and took the title Emperor Emeritus.