Japan’s emperor of peace takes his final bow
Emperor Hirohito of Japan – once regarded as a living god – declared via a crackly radio transmission to the nation the news of its unconditional surrender in the Second World War on Aug 15 1945. Among those listening to every word of the historic broadcast was an 11-year-old schoolboy who had been removed from the bombing of Tokyo to the mountains – namely, his son and heir, now Emperor Akihito.
For the emperor, who steps down today at the age of 85, it was a moment that clearly defined not only his country’s 20th-century destiny, but his own future path as incumbent of the Chrysanthemum Throne.
During his peaceful 30 years at the helm of Japan’s imperial family, Akihito has perhaps been most acutely aware of one key task – to make
amends for a war that was fought in his father’s name. And Akihito is widely regarded as having successfully guarded the pacifist post-war constitution under which his role is seen as “symbol of the state and of the unity of the people”.
Travelling overseas as the politically neutral figurehead of Japan has been a key theme throughout Akihito’s life, having undertaken 30 overseas visits as crown prince and a further 28 as emperor – the latter almost always accompanied by a serenely smiling Empress Michiko.
The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this month and the empress has helped make the imperial family more visible and approachable in contemporary Japan.
Perhaps among the emperor’s most historic accomplishments was his visit to China in 1992, a country still smarting over Japan’s wartime aggressions. It was during a state banquet in Beijing that Akihito offered what was regarded as the strongest expression of regret over the war, although he stopped short of apologising.
His comments came two years after he expressed “deep remorse” for the suffering inflicted upon Koreans during Japan’s 35-year colonisation of the peninsula and the war. Akihito will become the first emperor in Japan’s modern history to see his Heisei era (meaning “achieving peace”) end without going to war, although the nation has been rocked by natural disasters during his reign.
Following the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, the emperor made an unprecedented televised address urging the nation to help one another, using polite but modern Japanese in a break with the traditional, formal court language.
The imperial couple also visited the disaster zone a month after the eruption and further broke with conservative protocol by crouching down to talk to refugees, which was widely regarded as a symbol of their heartfelt empathy with the public.
The indelible impact of the Second World War on Akihito – and many of his generation – is perhaps impossible to overstate. It was three months after his father’s historic radio announcement that he returned to Tokyo, a city devastated by US incendiary bombing. Here, he was forced to adjust to a new reality as his father was humiliatingly stripped of his powers and made to renounce his status as a living divinity.
In 1952, a young Akihito was formally invested as crown prince at the Imperial Palace and just one year later, embarked on a six-month trip to the United States, Canada and 13 countries in Europe, even attending the Queen’s coronation in London.
Taking place only eight years after the end of the war, it was not an easy trip – he reportedly faced protests in Britain – but experts have seen this debut mission as a key step in rebuilding Japan’s post-war foreign relations. Not long after came another
Akihito will become the first emperor in Japan’s modern history to see his era end without ever having a war
The indelible impact of the Second World War on Akihito is perhaps impossible to overstate
landmark moment in the crown prince’s life as fate led him to a tennis court in Karuizawa where he played doubles with a young Michiko .
Their marriage made him the first Japanese imperial heir to wed not only a commoner, but someone who was Catholic-educated.
After marrying, it soon became clear that they would write their own rules when it came to having a family. While the emperor was raised apart from his parents in an imperial nursery from the age of two, the empress brought up their three children herself. It was in January 1989, following the death of his father, that Akihito became the first Emperor of Japan enthroned under the post-war constitution.
In recent years, a number of health concerns were made public, with the emperor undergoing surgery for prostate cancer in 2003, and a heart bypass operation in 2012.
The beginning of the end came in August 2016 when Akihito revealed, in a rare video address, concerns that his age would make it difficult for him to carry out his full duties. This paved the way for him to become the first emperor to abdicate in two centuries and brought to an end his three peaceful decades at the helm.
Japan will officially begin a new era tomorrow when his Oxford-educated son and devout family man, Crown Prince Naruhito, ascends to the throne. It will mark the start of the Reiwa period (meaning “beautiful harmony”).
♦japanese police yesterday arrested a 56-year-old man in connection with two paring knives found at the school desk of Prince Hisahito, the grandson of Emperor Akihito, local media reported. The suspect, identified as Kaoru Hasegawa, was arrested on suspicion of illegally entering the 12-year-old prince’s school on Friday. His motive was not immediately clear.