Hirohito

Emperor of Japan

29 April 1901 Tōgū Palace, Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Empire of Japan

7 January 1989(1989-01-07) (87) Fukiage Palace, Tokyo, Japan

Era name and datesShōwa: 25 December 1926 – 7 January 1989

Emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989 For other uses, see Hirohito (disambiguation). Emperor of Japan Emperor Shōwa 昭和天皇 The Emperor in 1935Emperor of JapanReign25 December 1926 – 7 January 1989Enthronement10 November 1928PredecessorTaishōSuccessorAkihitoPrime Ministers See list Prewar periodGiichi TanakaOsachi HamaguchiReijirō WakatsukiTsuyoshi InukaiTakahashi Korekiyo (acting)Makoto SaitōKeisuke OkadaKōki HirotaSenjūrō HayashiFumimaro KonoeKiichirō HiranumaNobuyuki AbeMitsumasa YonaiFumimaro KonoeHideki TojoKuniaki KoisoKantarō SuzukiHigashikuni NaruhikoPostwar period:Kijūrō ShideharaTetsu KatayamaHitoshi AshidaShigeru YoshidaIchirō HatoyamaTanzan IshibashiNobusuke KishiHayato IkedaEisaku SatōKakuei TanakaTakeo MikiTakeo FukudaMasayoshi ŌhiraMasayoshi Itō (acting)Zenkō SuzukiYasuhiro NakasoneNoboru Takeshita Prince Regent of JapanTenure29 November 1921 – 25 December 1926MonarchTaishōPrime Ministers See list Takahashi KorekiyoKatō TomosaburōYamamoto GonnohyōeKiyoura KeigoKatō TakaakiWakatsuki Reijirō BornMichinomiya Hirohito (1901-04-29 ) 29 April 1901 Tōgū Palace, Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Empire of JapanDied7 January 1989(1989-01-07) (aged 87) Fukiage Palace, Tokyo, JapanBurial24 February 1989 Musashi Imperial Graveyard, Hachiōji, Tokyo, JapanSpousePrincess Nagako Kuni ​ ​(m. 1924)​Issue Shigeko Higashikuni Sachiko, Princess Hisa Kazuko Takatsukasa Atsuko Ikeda Akihito, Emperor Emeritus of Japan Masahito, Prince Hitachi Takako Shimazu Era name and datesShōwa: 25 December 1926 – 7 January 1989HouseImperial House of JapanFatherEmperor TaishōMotherEmpress TeimeiSignature Emperor Shōwa (昭和 , 29 April 1901 – 7 January 1989) , better known in English by his personal name Hirohito (裕仁 ) , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling over the Empire of Japan from 1926 until 1947, after which he was Emperor of the state of Japan until his death in 1989. He was succeeded by his fifth child and eldest son, Akihito. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had seven children, two sons and five daughters. By 1979, Hirohito was the only monarch in the world with the title "emperor". Hirohito was the longest-lived and longest-reigning historical Japanese emperor and one of the longest-reigning monarchs in the world. At the start of his reign, Japan was already one of the great powers—the ninth largest economy in the world, the third-largest naval power, and one of the four permanent members of the council of the League of Nations. He was the head of state under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan during Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in World War II. After Japan's surrender, he was not prosecuted for war crimes as many other leading government figures were. His degree of involvement in wartime decisions remains controversial. During the post-war period, he became the symbol of the state of Japan under the post-war constitution and Japan's recovery. By the end of his reign, Japan had emerged as the world's second-largest economy. In Japan, reigning emperors are known only as "the Emperor." He is now referred to primarily by his posthumous name, Shōwa, which is the name of the era coinciding with his reign.