88-Year-Old Former Japanese Emperor Akihito Becomes Longest-Living Emperor in History

▲Emperor Emeritus Akihito (left) and Empress Emerita Michiko (right)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Former Emperor Akihito, who abdicated in April two years ago, has become the longest-lived emperor in history.

According to the Tokyo Shimbun on the 2nd, Emperor Emeritus Akihito has lived for 32,031 days (87 years and 254 days) as of that day, matching the record of his father Hirohito (December 25, 1926 ? January 7, 1989), who was the longest-lived emperor on record.

Accordingly, from the 3rd onward, he will set a new daily record as the longest-lived person to have ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Japanese media reported that this is the longest-lived record since the 8th century, a period about which scholars rarely dispute the birth and death years of former emperors.

According to the Japanese imperial genealogy, the first emperor Jinmu is recorded in the historical texts Nihon Shoki as having lived to 127 years old, and in the Kojiki as having lived to 137 years old.

Born in 1933, Akihito will celebrate his 88th birthday on December 23 this year. He ascended the throne as the 125th emperor at the age of 55, succeeding his father Hirohito.

Having experienced evacuation during the Pacific War initiated by Imperial Japan in his childhood, he attracted attention during his reign of over 30 years by continuously undertaking "memorial visits" to war sites both inside and outside Japan.

In August 2016, he expressed his intention to abdicate due to old age through a video message, and on April 30, 2019, two years and eight months later, he passed the throne to his eldest son Naruhito and retired as Emperor Emeritus.

After abdication, he showed symptoms of cerebral anemia in July 2019 and temporarily lost consciousness and collapsed in January last year, but it is reported that he has no major health problems.

Since March last year, he has left the Imperial Palace "Kokyo" in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, and has been spending his time with Empress Emerita Michiko (86) at the imperial residence in Minato Ward.

He has continued his lifelong work of fish research and even published a paper on the Okinawa mudskipper, which mainly inhabits the southern seas of Japan.

The Imperial Household Agency, which handles affairs of the Japanese imperial family, announced that it will not hold any events to commemorate Emperor Emeritus Akihito’s record as the longest-lived emperor, considering the COVID-19 situation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.