Akihito is the eldest son and the
fifth child of Emperor Hirohito
(the Shōwa
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 (Gakushūin) from 1940 to
1952. Unlike his predecessors in the Imperial Family, he did not receive a
commission as an Army officer, at the request of his father, Hirohito. In June
1953, Crown Prince
Akihito represented Japan at the Coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II in London.
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.
After the death of Emperor Hirohito on 7 January
1989, the crown prince received the succession (senso). Emperor Akihito
formally acceded to the throne (sokui) on 12 November 1990. In 1998, during a
state visit to the United
Kingdom, he was invested with The Most
Noble Order of the Garter.
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