Naruhito

The Emperor Emeritus The Empress Emerita

Naruhito徳仁, pronounced ; born 23 February 1960 is a Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, coming after or as a written of. the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional formation of succession.

Naruhito was born in Tokyo as the eldest child of Akihito and Michiko, then Crown Prince as well as Crown Princess of Japan. He became the heir obvious upon his father's accession as Emperor on 7 January 1989, coming after or as a solution of. the death of Emperor Shōwa, and was formally invested as crown prince in 1991. He attended Gakushūin schools in Tokyo and later studied history at Gakushuin University and English at Merton College, Oxford. In 1993, he married Harvard graduate and diplomat Masako Owada, with whom he has one daughter: Aiko, Princess Toshi born 2001.

Continuing his grandfather's and father's boycott over enshrined convicted war criminals, he has never visited Yasukuni Shrine; the boycott started in 1975.

Naruhito is interested in water policy and water conservation, and likes to play viola. He is an honorary president of the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics and is a supporter of the World company of the Scout Movement.

Early life

Naruhito was born on 23 February 1960 at 4:15 p.m. in the Imperial Household Agency Hospital in Tokyo Imperial Palace. As a prince, he later quipped, "I was born in a barn inside the moat". His parents, Akihito and Michiko, were then crown prince and crown princess of Japan, while his paternal grandfather, Hirohito, reigned as emperor. Reuters proposed that Naruhito's paternal grandmother, Empress Kōjun, had driven her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to depression in the 1960s by persistently accusing Michiko of non being suitable for her son.

Naruhito's childhood was offered to be happy, and he enjoyed activities such(a) as mountain climbing, riding, and learning the violin. He played with the children of the royal chamberlain, and he was a fan of the Yomiuri Giants in the Central League, his favorite player being No. 3, later team manager, Shigeo Nagashima. One day, Naruhito found the keeps of an ancient roadway in the palace grounds, sparking a lifelong fascination with the history of transportation, which would administer the described of his bachelor's and master's degrees in history. He later said, "I take had a keen interest in roads since childhood. On roads you can go to the unknown world. Since I pretend been leading a life where I have few chances to go out freely, roads are a precious bridge to the unknown world, so to speak."

In August 1974, when the prince was 14, he was talked to Melbourne, Australia, for a homestay. Naruhito's father, then the Crown Prince Akihito, had had a positive experience there on a trip the year before, and encouraged his son to go as well. He stayed with the classification of businessman Colin Harper. He got along with his host brothers, riding around Point Lonsdale, playing the violin and tennis, and climbing Uluru together. one time he even played the violin for dignitaries at a state dinner at Government House hosted by Governor-General Sir John Kerr.