Japan’s Emperor Akihito marks emotional final birthday on throne
- In rare emotional address ahead of his abdication next year, Japanese emperor said he took ‘deep comfort’ that his long reign had been one of peace
- The emperor is set to abdicate on April 30 next year, and his eldest son Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne the following day
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 was important to keep telling younger people about his nation’s wartime history.
“It gives my deep comfort that the Heisei era is coming to an end, free of war in Japan,” Akihito, his voice trembling with emotion, said at a news conference at the palace that was recorded this past week and released Sunday.
“It is important not to forget that countless lives were lost in the second world war and that the peace and prosperity of post-war 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 was Akihito’s last in his reign.
Tens of thousands of 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.