Naruhito ( born 23 February 1960) is the current Emperor of Japan. He succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, following the abdication of his father Akihito on 30 April 2019. According to Japan’s traditional order of succession, he is the 126th member of the world’s oldest reigning dynasty. He is the first emperor to be born after World War II.
In Japan, the Emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as “His Majesty the Emperor” (天皇陛下 Tennō Heika) which may be shortened to His Majesty (陛下 Heika). In writing, the Emperor is also referred to formally as “The Reigning Emperor” (今上天皇 Kinjō Tennō). The Era of Naruhito’s reign bears the name “Reiwa” (令和), and according to custom he will be renamed Emperor Reiwa (令和天皇 Reiwa Tennō, see “posthumous name”) by order of the Cabinet after his death. At the same time, the name of the next Era under his successor will be established
Naruhito was born on 23 February 1960 at 4:15 pm in the Imperial Household Agency Hospital in Tokyo Imperial Palace.The prince later quipped, “I was born in a barn inside the moat”. His mother is a convert to Shinto from Roman Catholicism. Prior to Naruhito’s birth, the announcement of the-then Crown Prince Akihito’s engagement and marriage to Michiko Shōda (later Empress Michiko) had drawn opposition from traditionalist groups, because Michiko came from a Roman Catholic family. Although she was never baptized, she was educated in Catholic schools and seemed to share the faith of her parents. Rumors also speculated that Empress Kōjun had opposed the engagement. After the death of Naruhito’s paternal-grandmother Empress Kōjun in 2000, Reuters reported that she was one of the strongest opponents of her son’s marriage, and that in the 1960s, she had driven her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to depression by persistently accusing her of not being suitable for her son.
Naruhito’s childhood was reported to be happy, and he enjoyed activities such 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-turned-team manager Shigeo Nagashima. One day, Naruhito found the remains of an ancient roadway on the palace grounds, sparking a lifelong fascination with the history of transportation, which would provide the subject of his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history. He later said, “I have had a keen interest in roads since childhood. On roads you can go to the unknown world. Since I have 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 sent to Melbourne, Australia for a homestay. Naruhito’s father, then the Crown Prince Akihito, had a positive experience there on a trip the year before and encouraged his son to go as well. He stayed with the family of businessman Colin Harper.[ He got along with his host brothers, riding around Point Lonsdale, playing violin and tennis, and climbing Uluru together.[Once he even played violin for dignitaries at a state dinner at Government House hosted by Governor-General Sir John Kerr.
Education
Crown Prince Naruhito in 1990
When Naruhito was four years old he was enrolled in the prestigious Gakushūin school system, where many of Japan’s elite families and narikin (nouveau riche) send their children. In senior high, Naruhito joined the geography club.
Naruhito graduated from Gakushuin University in March 1982 with a Bachelor of Letters degree in History. In July of the next year he entered a three-month intensive English course before entering Merton College, Oxford University, in the United Kingdom, where he would study until 1986. Naruhito would not, however, submit his thesis A Study of Navigation and Traffic on the Upper Thames in the 18th Century until 1989. He later revisited these years in his book, The Thames and I – a Memoir of Two Years at Oxford. Among his sightseeing destinations were some 21 historic pubs, including the Trout Inn and The White Hart. Naruhito joined the Japan Society and the drama society, and was the honorary president of the karate and judo clubs.He played inter-college tennis, seeding number three out of six on the Merton team, and took golf lessons from a pro.[19] In his three years at Merton he also climbed the highest peaks in three of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom: Scotland’s Ben Nevis, Wales’ Snowdon and Scafell Pike in England.
While at Oxford, Naruhito also was able to go sightseeing across Europe and meet many of its royalty, including the British royal family.[20] The relatively relaxed manners of the United Kingdom’s royals amazed him: “Queen Elizabeth II, he noted with surprise, poured her own tea and served the sandwiches.” He also went skiing with Liechtenstein’s Hans-Adam II, holidayed on Majorca in the Mediterranean with Juan Carlos I, and sailed with Norway’s Harald and Sonja and Beatrix of the Netherlands.
Upon his return to Japan, Naruhito enrolled once more in Gakushūin University to earn a Master of Humanities degree in History, successfully earning his degree in 1988.
Personal life
Marriage and family
Marriage
Naruhito first met Masako Owada at a tea for Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo in November 1986,during her studies at the University of Tokyo. The prince was immediately captivated by her, and arranged for them to meet several times over the next few weeks. Because of this, they were pursued relentlessly by the press throughout 1987.
Despite the Imperial Household Agency’s disapproval of Masako, and her attending Balliol College, Oxford, for the next two years, Naruhito remained interested in Masako. He would go on to propose to her three times before the Imperial Palace announced their engagement on 19 January 1993. The wedding took place on 9 June the same year at the Imperial Shinto Hall in Tokyo before 800 invited guests, including many of Europe’s heads of state and royalty, and an estimated media audience of 500 million people around the world.
After the wedding, the couple moved into the Tōgū Palace, on the Akasaka Estate in Minato, Tokyo.
By the time of their marriage, Naruhito’s grandfather Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) had died and so on 23 February 1991 Naruhito was invested as the Crown Prince with the title Prince Hiro (浩宮 Hiro-no-miya).
Succession
See also: Japanese succession debate
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have one daughter, Aiko, Princess Toshi (敬宮愛子内親王 Toshi-no-miya Aiko Naishinnō, born 1 December 2001 at Imperial Household Agency Hospital in Tokyo Imperial Palace).
Aiko’s birth, which occurred more than eight years after their marriage, sparked lively debate in Japan about whether the Imperial Household Law should be changed from agnatic primogeniture to allow a woman to ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
In 2005, a government-appointed panel of experts recommended that the Imperial succession law be amended to permit Aiko to rule in her own right, and Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi pledged his support. However, the proposal was dropped following the birth of Hisahito, the Emperor’s first grandson and Aiko’s first male cousin.
Hobbies and interests
Naruhito is interested in water policy and water conservation. In March 2003, in his capacity as honorary president of the Third World Water Forum, he delivered a speech at the forum’s opening ceremony titled “Waterways Connecting Kyoto and Local Regions”. Visiting Mexico in March 2006, he gave the keynote address at the opening ceremony for the Fourth World Water Forum, “Edo and Water Transport”. And in December 2007, he gave a commemorative talk at the opening ceremony for the First Asia-Pacific Water Summit, “Humans and Water: From Japan to the Asia-Pacific Region”.
Prince Naruhito now plays the viola, having switched from violin because he thought the latter “too much of a leader, too prominent” to suit his musical and personal tastes. He enjoys jogging, hiking, and mountaineering in his spare time.
