Akihito became the 125th Emperor in January 1989 after the death of his father emperor Hirohito, in whose name Japan had fought World War II.
Akihito was born on Dec. 23, 1933, the eldest son and the fifth child of Hirohito and empress Nagako.
At the age of 18, Akihito became crown prince.
He graduated from Gakushuin University in Tokyo four years later.
The then-crown prince broke with traditions, going on to marry Michiko Shoda, a commoner and the eldest daughter of a company president, in 1959.
Since he ascended to Japan’s Chrysanthemum Throne, the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world, Emperor Akihito has attempted to heal the wounds of World War II across Asia.
In 1991, the emperor visited Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in his first official trip abroad.
He also traveled to China in 1992 and the southern Japanese island of Okinawa in 1993, the site of one of the few ground battles in the country during the conflict.
In January, the imperial couple visited the Philippines to pay tribute to the war dead, with 2016 marking the 60th anniversary of the normalisation of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.
During World War II, fierce battles between Japan and the U.S. took place on Philippine soil, resulting in the loss of many Filipino lives.
“This is something we Japanese must never forget and we intend to keep this engraved in our hearts throughout our visit,” Akihito said in Manila.
He also made a surprise TV address to the country after the earthquake and tsunami disaster in 2011.
It was the first time he spoke to the public on a specific event during his reign.
The 82-year-old emperor has had health issues, undergoing surgery for prostate cancer in 2003 and suffering stress-related health problems in 2008. He underwent heart bypass surgery in 2012.
The couple has two sons, Crown Prince Naruhito and Prince Fumihito and one daughter, Sayako, as well as four grandchildren.
Akihito is also a keen environmentalist and has conducted research on fish and is a member of the Ichthyological Society of Japan.
His research papers have been published in scientific journals.