Japan's emperor urges nation not to give up

Source: AP

TOKYO—Japanese Emperor Akihito has addressed the nation, expressing condolences for victims of the massive earthquake and tsunami and telling the nation not to give up.
Speaking on TV Wednesday afternoon, he also voiced concern about the developing crisis at a nuclear power plant damaged by the disasters that has led to radiation leakage.
Friday's quake-spawned tsunami has devastated Japan's northeastern coast, and officials believe more than 10,000 people have died.
Akihito said: "We don't know the number of victims, but I pray that every single person can be saved."

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17624397

Wow, I just don't know my modern history at all.

here's some background from reuters:
"Akihito, who ascended the throne after the death of his father Emperor Hirohito in 1989, has striven to draw the imperial family closer to the people in image, if not in fact.

In a sharp break with tradition, he was the first heir to marry a commoner.

He has also spent much of his reign seeking to heal the wounds of a war waged across Asia in his father's name."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/us-japan-quake-emperor-idUSTRE72F23520110316

when they get rid of the male only inheritor law in Japan.

"In extension of his father's interest in marine biology, the Emperor is a published ichthyological researcher, and has specialized studies within the taxonomy of the family Gobiidae.<9> He has written papers for scholarly journals, namely Gene and the Japanese Journal of Ichthyology.<10>

He has also written papers about the history of science during the Edo and Meiji eras, which were published in Science<11> and Nature.<12> In 2005, a newly described goby was named Exyrias akihito in his honour."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihito

By the summer of 1945, Japan was trying to negotiate surrender terms, both via U.S. and Soviet channels. Japan was willing to agree to all of the U.S. demands, except for abolishing the Emperor. Hence, the nukes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which brought Japan to acquiesce to "unconditional surrender."

It was Emperor Hirohito himself (who never spoke publicly until then) who, in a radio address, called on Japan to surrender, even though he knew it meant the end of his reign (and possibly his life).

So, that should have been the end of the Empire. However, the U.S. then set up Japan to be a constitutional monarchy, and although his role is merely ceremonial, and the Emperor is still very reclusive, the title still remains. Go figure.

Glad that endurance and working together are strong values in Japan.