Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

. He acceded to the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions ...

following

the abdication ''The Abdication'' is a 1974 British historical drama film directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Peter Finch and Liv Ullmann. The film's score was composed by Nino Rota. It tells a fictionalized version of the rumored love affair between C ...

of his father,

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

, on 1 May 2019, beginning the

Reiwa era is the current and 232nd era of the official calendar of Japan. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor Akihito's eldest son, Naruhito, Enthronement of the Japanese emperor, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. The da ...

. He is the 126th monarch, according to the traditional order of succession. Naruhito is the elder son of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and

Empress Emerita Michiko is a member of the Imperial House of Japan. She was empress consort of Japan, Empress of Japan as the wife of Akihito, the 125th Emperor of Japan reigning from 7 January 1989 to 30 April 2019. Michiko married Crown Prince Akihito and became ...

. He was born during the reign of his paternal grandfather,

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

, and became the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

following his father's accession in 1989. He was formally invested as Crown Prince of Japan in 1991. He attended

Gakushūin The , or , historically known as the Peers' School, is a Japanese educational institution in Tokyo, originally established as Gakushūjo to educate the children of Japan's nobility. The original school expanded from its original mandate of educ ...

schools in Tokyo and later studied history at

Gakushuin University is a private university in Mejiro, Toshima, Tokyo. The Gakushūin (or "Peers School") was established during the Meiji period to educate the children of the Japanese nobility, but back then the institution had only the primary and secondary ...

and English at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

. In June 1993, he married the diplomat Owada Masako. They have one daughter:

Aiko, Princess Toshi is a member of the Imperial House of Japan. She is the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan. Following her birth, the ongoing Japanese imperial succession debate had resulted in some politicians holding a favorable vi ...

. Continuing his grandfather's and father's boycott over the enshrinement of convicted war criminals, Naruhito has never visited

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...

. He is interested in

water policy Water politics, sometimes called hydropolitics, is politics affected by the availability of water and water resources, a necessity for all life forms and human development. Arun P. Elhance's definition of hydropolitics is "the systematic study ...

and

water conservation Water conservation aims to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, protect the hydrosphere, and meet current and future human demand. Water conservation makes it possible to avoid water scarcity. It covers all the policies, strateg ...

. He was an honorary president of the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

and

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

and is a supporter of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

Name

Before his accession, he was generally referred in the Japanese press by his princely title ''Kōtaishi'' (Crown Prince, 皇太子; ). Upon succeeding to the throne he is referred to as , which may be shortened to . In writing, the emperor is also referred to formally as . The

era An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

of his reign bears the name , and according to custom he will be referred to as by order of the Cabinet after his death. The name of the next era under his successor will be established after his death or before his

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...

Early life

Naruhito was born on 23 February 1960 at 4:15 p.m. in the

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

Hospital in

Tokyo Imperial Palace is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor h ...

. As a prince, he later quipped, "I was born in a barn inside the moat". His parents,

Emperor Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

and

Empress Michiko is a member of the Imperial House of Japan. She was Empress of Japan as the wife of Akihito, the 125th Emperor of Japan reigning from 7 January 1989 to 30 April 2019. Michiko married Crown Prince Akihito and became Crown Princess of Japan i ...

, were then crown prince and crown princess of Japan, while his paternal grandfather, Hirohito, reigned as emperor.

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

news agency reported that Naruhito's paternal grandmother,

Empress Kōjun Nagako (6 March 190316 June 2000), posthumously honoured as Empress Kōjun, was a member of the Imperial House of Japan, the wife of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and the mother of Emperor Emeritus Akihito. She was Empress of Japan from 1926 unti ...

, had driven her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to depression in the 1960s by persistently accusing Michiko of not being suitable for her son. His childhood was reported to be happy, and he enjoyed activities such as

mountain climbing Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

, riding, and learning the violin. He played with the children of the royal chamberlain, and he was a fan of the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

in the

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

, his favorite player being No. 3, later team manager,

Shigeo Nagashima was a Japanese professional baseball player and manager. Nicknamed "Mr. Pro Baseball" of Japan and "Mr. Giants", Nagashima first began playing baseball in elementary school, before playing at his high school in Chiba Prefecture before playing ...

. One day, Naruhito found the remains of an ancient

roadway A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) is a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of traffic lane ...

on the palace grounds, sparking a lifelong fascination with the history of

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

, 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 Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, for a homestay. His father, then the crown prince, 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 a businessman named Colin Harper. He got along with his host brothers, riding around

Point Lonsdale Point Lonsdale is a town on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia. The town is divided between the Borough of Queenscliffe and the City of Greater Geelong. Point Lonsdale is also one of the headlands which, with Poin ...

, playing the violin and tennis, and climbing

Uluru Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...

together. Once he even played the violin for

dignitaries {{Short pages monitor Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (civil) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Tonga Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Knights of the Garter University of Tokyo alumni