Takahito
| Takahito たかひと | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Emperor of Japan | |
| Reign | 25 December 1926 - 25 December 2006 |
| Enthronement | 10 November 1928 |
| Predecessor | Yoshihito |
| Successor | Tomohito |
| Born | Takahito, Prince Mikasa 2 December 1915 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | 27 October 2016 (aged 100) Tokyo, Japan |
| Spouse | Yuriko Takagi (m. 1941) |
| Issue | |
| House | Imperial House of Japan |
| Father | Yoshihito |
| Mother | Sadako Kujō |
| Religion | Shinto |
Takahito (2 December 1915 – 27 October 2016), posthumously honoured as Emperor Shinnō, was the 125th Emperor of Japan, reigning from 1926 until his abdication in 2006. At eighty years long, he is the longest reigning Japanese monarch in history and one of the longest reigning monarchs in the world.
Born in 1915 as the only son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei, Takahito ascended to the throne in 1926 following his father's death, becoming emperor at the relatively young age of nine. His reign, which went on to last for a total of eight decades, witnessed an increasing period of militarisation in the Empire of Japan, its participation and subsequent loss in the Second World War, and the country's post-war recovery during which Japan established itself as a global economic power driven by its manufacturing and industrial sectors. Despite his status as head of state during World War II, Takahito was controversially spared from prosecution by the victorious Allied powers although he did renounce his divinity as emperor. In 2006, owing to his advanced age and declining health, Takahito abdicated on the eightieth anniversary of his reign before later dying at the age of 100 on 27 October 2016.
Meanwhile, in addition to his regnal duties, Takahito was known for his deep interest in Middle Eastern studies and Semitic languages, being especially interested in Jewish studies.
In 1941, amidst the Second World War, Takahito married Yuriko Takagi, with whom he had three sons and two daughters. A centenarian, Takahito outlived all three of his sons, with the eldest of them, namely Takahito, briefly reigning as emperor following his father's abdication before dying just four years short of the latter. In this, the scarcity of male heirs resulted in the Japanese parliament passing a law to amend the succession laws to the Japanese throne with the changes themselves resulting in Takahito's oldest grandchild Akiko becoming the first Japanese empress in three centuries since Empress Go-Sakuramachi.