'' at his
enthronement ceremony, 1990 Upon the
death of Emperor Hirohito on 7 January 1989, Akihito acceded to the throne, becoming the 125th
Emperor of Japan. Owing to his father being the longest-reigning emperor in Japanese history, Akihito was the third oldest to ascend the
Chrysanthemum Throne in history; he was 55 years old at the time. The
enthronement ceremony took place on 12 November 1990. On 23 December 2001, during his annual birthday meeting with reporters, the Emperor, in response to a reporter's question about tensions with
South Korea, remarked that he felt a kinship with
Koreans and went on to explain that, in the
Shoku Nihongi, the mother of
Emperor Kammu (736–806) is related to
Muryeong of Korea,
King of Baekje, a fact that was considered taboo for discussion. In June 2005, the Emperor and Empress visited the island of
Saipan (part of the
Northern Mariana Islands, a
U.S. territory), the site of a
battle in 1944 during
World War II. Akihito offered prayers and flowers at several memorials, honouring not only the Japanese who died, but also American servicemen, Korean labourers, 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 Prefecture,
Nagasaki Prefecture and
Okinawa Prefecture in 1995. After succeeding to the throne, Akihito made an effort to bring the Imperial family closer to the Japanese people. He and Michiko made official visits to eighteen countries and to all forty-seven
Japanese prefectures. 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 was the first male heir born to the Japanese imperial family in 41 years (since his father
Prince Akishino) and could avert the
Japanese imperial succession crisis, as the only child of the Emperor's elder son, the then
Crown Prince Naruhito, is his daughter,
Princess Aiko, who is not eligible for the throne under
Japan's male-only succession law. The birth of Prince Hisahito meant that proposed changes to the law to allow Aiko to ascend the throne were dropped. In response to the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami which also triggered the
Fukushima nuclear accident, the Emperor made urging his people not to give up hope and to help each other.
Constitutional role Under the
Constitution of Japan, Akihito's role was entirely representative and ceremonial in nature, without even a nominal role in government; indeed, he was not allowed to make political statements. He was limited to acting in matters of state as delineated in the Constitution. Even in those matters, he was bound by the requirements of the Constitution and the binding advice of the Cabinet. For instance, while he formally appointed the Prime Minister, he was required to appoint the person designated by the Diet. == Abdication ==