Emperor Naruhito, who was born 63 years ago today as the eldest son of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko, is known as the first Japanese emperor to have studied abroad.
After making his first overseas trip to Australia in 1974, he studied at the Department of History in the Faculty of Letters of Gakushuin University. His broad interests and sociable personality took him to Britain in 1983 to deepen his academic research. He spent two years living in a dormitory and studying at Oxford University’s Merton College.
In 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the emperor participated in numerous public activities either in person or online, often together with Empress Masako.