See Also: Akihito(encyclopedia)

Akihito (sh)




or Heisei emperor

born Dec. 23, 1933, Tokyo, Japan

Emperor of Japan from 1989.

Son of Hirohito, his role, like that of his father after 1945, has been largely ceremonial. He is the first Japanese emperor to have married a commoner, in what was hailed at the time as a love match rather than the customary arranged marriage. His children are Crown Prince Naruhito, Prince Akishino, and Princess Nori.