The 82-year-old Emperor Akihito has worked tirelessly to encourage the nation through multiple disasters and made numerous trips to former battlegrounds at home and abroad to mourn the war dead, despite the health issues that have come with advanced age.

Upon the death of his 87-year-old father, Emperor Hirohito, who is posthumously known as Emperor Showa, on Jan. 7, 1989, he ascended the throne at the age of 55. He was the first to do so as the "symbol of the state and of the unity of the people," a new status given to the world's oldest hereditary monarchy in the post-World War II Constitution, which came into effect in 1947.

Throughout his reign, which has spanned nearly three decades, and despite his age, the Emperor has continued to carry out his official duties, traveling throughout the country and overseas , with his wife, Empress Michiko, 81.