JAPAN - BEAUTIFUL HARMONY
JAPANESE EMPEROR NARUHITO
Symbol Of
NATIONAL UNITY Japan officially began a new era on 1st May 2019, when Crown Prince Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne to become the new emperor. In his first speech as emperor, he said that he felt the solemn weight of his position, but vowed to be a symbol of unity for the nation.
A
day prior, his father, Emperor Akihito, had become the first Japanese emperor in more than 200 years to abdicate, bringing to an end the Heisei imperial era. Naruhito, 61, differs from his more tradition-bound predecessors in many ways , and has consistently challenged expectations by prioritising his family and academic life. After graduating with a degree in history from Tokyo’s prestigious Gakushuin University, he studied at Oxford University’s Merton College from 1983 to 1985. His chosen area of study was the history of transport on the River
His Oxford years left a strong mark on the young Prince, who described the period as the happiest time of his life, when writing in his 1993 memoir “The Thames and I” Thames, highlighting an interest in waterways that continued with his doctoral research at Gakushuin. His Oxford years left a strong mark on the young Prince, who described the period as the happiest time of his life, when writing in his 1993 memoir “The Thames and I”. 40
