Akihito

[nayeemfaruqui]

Akihito, (1933-), emperor of Japan, 1989- . He is formally called Tenno Heisei; Tenno is the Japanese title for emperor and Heisei (meaning “achieving peace”) is the name of his reign. Akihito succeeded to the imperial throne upon the death of his father, Hirohito. He is the 125th emperor of Japan.

Akihito was proclaimed heir to the throne in 1952. Departing from imperial tradition, he married a commoner, Shoda Michiko, in 1959. His son, Crown Prince Naruhito, was born in 1960. Akihito, like his father, became an expert in marine biology, and wrote more than two dozen scholarly papers and a book on the fish found in Japanese waters.