As Japanese Emperor Akihito abdicates, a glimpse into the 85-year-old monarch's life
Emperor Akihito abdicated the throne after a three-decade-long reign. The ascension of Crown Prince Naruhito marks a new imperial era in Japan, Reiwa, which stands for beautiful harmony
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Crown Prince Akihito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1952, going to his school, Gakushuin University, in Tokyo, Japan, in December 1945. The monarch also went on to study marine biology. Reuters/Kyodo.
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A photo released by Japan’s Imperial Household Agency depicts a ceremony held on 10 November, 1952 in which Crown Prince Akihito was formally proclaimed as successor to the Chrysasthemum Throne. Reuters/Kyodo.
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Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko at their wedding parade in Tokyo, Japan on 10 April, 1959. The couple was known as the ’love match’ and Crown Prince Akihito broke with over 2,000 years of tradition in marrying a commoner. She represented modernity, love, respect, and the nation’s adoration of the Crown Princess came to be known as ‘Mitchi boom.’ Reuters/Kyodo.
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Father of Crown Prince Akihito, Emperor Hirohito’s coffin being carried during his funeral ceremony in Tokyo on 4 February, 1989. Emperor Hirohito publicly renounced the monarchical divinity after the World War II as part of Japan’s surrender. Reuters/Kyodo.
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Emperor Akihito, following a ritual worshipping the sun goddess at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace. He is the first emperor in two centuries to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne, after his three-decade reign that will officially end at midnight on 30 April, 2019. The monarch will be succeeded by his son Crown Prince Naruhito. The Associated Press/The Imperial Household Agency of Japan.
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