Emperor Emeritus Akihito turned 90 on Saturday after having spent another peaceful year with his wife, Empress Emerita Michiko, while continuing to reflect on war and peace and those impacted by natural disasters, the Imperial Household Agency said.
Keeping current with the latest news through newspapers and television, the former emperor, who stepped down from the chrysanthemum throne in 2019, has also expressed concern over the extensive damage caused by heavy rains and the record-breaking heat in Japan this summer.
Four times a year, he observes a moment of silence commemorating World War II — Okinawa Memorial Day, the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the anniversary of Japan’s surrender — as well as the anniversaries of the Great Hanshin Earthquake and the Great East Japan Earthquake.