There has been an emperor in Japan for more than 15 centuries, making the Chrysanthemum Throne the world’s oldest continuous monarchy. On Tuesday, the emperor stepped down, yielding to his eldest son in the first abdication in 200 years. We know him as Akihito, the emperor of Japan, a gentle figure who championed peace in a nation devastated by war. His father, the wartime emperor, Hirohito, had been revered as a god, but she made clear he never would be. “In this class, your name is Jimmy,” declared the teacher, Elizabeth Gray Vining, a 44-year-old librarian and children’s book author from Philadelphia.

Source: New York Times April 30, 2019 02:12 UTC