Hirohito died on 7 January 1989 in Tokyo Imperial Palace, aged 87. The 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, Hirohito reigned from 1926 until his death, a period known as the Showa era. His reign saw the rise of militarism, the invasion of China and the Second World War in the Pacific. In August 1945 he announced Japan's surrender in a radio broadcast, the first time most of his subjects heard his voice. Under the American occupation he remained on the throne but renounced any claim to divinity, and the 1947 constitution made him a symbolic head of state. Historians continue to debate how much responsibility he bore for the war. He was also a trained marine biologist.
Before and after
- 1989Founding of Arab Maghreb Union
- 1989Publication of Oxford English Dictionary
- 19891989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
- 1989The golden toad is seen for the last time
- 7 January 1989Death of Hirohito
- from 8 January 1989 to 30 April 2019Heisei era
- 9 January 1989Birth of Nina Dobrev
- 23 January 1989Death of Salvador Dalí
- 21 February 1989Birth of Corbin Bleu
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The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.