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Japan’s Emperor Akihito will abdicate this Tuesday, April 30, having sat on the Chrysanthemum Throne since 1989. At the age of 85, Akihito seemingly wishes to live in quiet retirement with Empress Michiko, his wife of 60 years. His elder son, Crown Prince Naruhito, will succeed him as emperor. Akihito’s reign began upon the death […]
Author Archives: Akira Iriye
Akira Iriye, an emeritus professor of history at Harvard University, is the author of Pacific Estrangement: Japanese and American Expansion, 1897–1911, Across the Pacific: An Inner History of American-East Asian Relations, and Global Community: The Role of International Organizations in the Making of the Contemporary World.