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Several married members of the imperial family are childless, including Emperor Akihito's brother, his uncle and a cousin.
CNN: AN HEIR OF CHANGE IN JAPAN
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The new Emperor, Akihito, offered his "deepest regrets" in 1990 to visiting South Korean President Roh Tae Woo.
CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Lesser Majesty
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Schroeder was due to meet Japanese government leaders and Emperor Akihito on the first leg of an Asian tour.
CNN: Schroeder calls for China to join G8, WTO
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After she left Japan Akihito wrote to her from time to time, and he visited her at her home in Philadelphia.
ECONOMIST: Elizabeth Vining
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The guest of honor was Emperor Akihito, who made a truncated but highly symbolic appearance just three weeks after having heart-bypass surgery.
WSJ: Japan Marks One-Year Anniversary of March 11 Earthquake and Tsunami
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Increasingly, attention focuses on Princess Mako, the eldest grand-daughter of Emperor Akihito.
CNN: IN HER OWN RIGHT
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And in an unprecedented statement during a royal visit to China in 1992, Emperor Akihito expressed his sorrow for Japan's wartime abuses.
ECONOMIST: Japan��s war with China, revisited
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Mr Kan is expected to form a cabinet in the next few days, and to be sworn in by Emperor Akihito next week.
BBC: Naoto Kan becomes Japan's new prime minister
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As it happens, after the enshrinement of the war criminals in 1978, Emperor Hirohito stopped visiting Yasukuni, a stay-away continued by his son, Akihito.
ECONOMIST: Japan
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The dictates of the royal household mean that Emperor Akihito keeps his counsel, but those who know him say that his liberal-minded views are probably ahead of those of most Japanese.
ECONOMIST: Elizabeth Vining
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Indeed, as Jeffrey Kingston of America's Temple University in Tokyo points out, Akihito has taken other actions to distance the monarchy from nationalists keen to refashion Japan's identity around the throne.
ECONOMIST: Japan