Emperor glad for 30 years of peace

Japan’s Emperor Akihito celebrated his 85th birthday, his last before he is soon set to abdicate the throne.

TOKYO — Japan’s Emperor Akihito, marking his 85th birthday — his last before his upcoming abdication — said he feels relieved that his reign is coming to an end without having seen his country at war and that it is important to keep telling younger people about the nation’s wartime history.

“It gives my deep comfort that the Heisei era is coming to an end, free of war in Japan,” Akihito, said at a news conference at the palace that was recorded and released Sunday. “It is important not to forget that countless lives were lost in World War II and that the peace and prosperity of postwar Japan was built upon the numerous sacrifices and tireless efforts made by the Japanese people, and to pass on this history accurately to those born after the war.”

Akihito’s 30-year reign of the Heisei is the only era without war in Japan’s modern history. Praying for peace and making amends for a war fought in the name of his father, Hirohito, has become a career mission for Akihito, who succeeded the throne in 1989.

Akihito is set to abdicate on April 30, to be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, on May 1. Sunday’s birthday celebration is Akihito’s last in his reign.

Well-wishers who gathered at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace to celebrate the occasion cheered and waved small rising-sun flags as Akihito and his family appeared on the balcony to greet and thank them.

As emperor, Akihito has made unprecedented visits to the Philippines and other Pacific islands conquered by Japan early in World War II and devastated in fierce fighting as the U.S.-led allies took them back. Though Akihito has avoided a direct apology, he has subtly stepped up his expressions of regret in recent years in carefully scripted statements on the war.

Akihito said he won’t forget those trips with his wife, Empress Michiko, and thanked those countries for welcoming them despite their bitter memories of war.

Akihito’s pacifist image and his compassion for disaster victims, the handicapped and the minorities have gained public support for him and his family. Experts say Akihito’s pacifist views may have come from his childhood wartime experiences.

Akihito is the first emperor enthroned under Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution as the symbol with no political power, unlike his father, who was revered as a god until the end of the war.

“As I come to the end of my journey as emperor, I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the many people who accepted and continued to support me as the symbol of the state,” he said.