TOKYO • When Crown Prince Naruhito assumes the throne on Wednesday, he will become the 126th emperor in the world's oldest monarchy stretching back to Emperor Jimmu's reign in 660BC.
This lineage is semi-mythical: Emperor Jimmu, according to Japanese mythology, is a descendant of the revered sun goddess Amaterasu. He is recorded as Japan's first ruler in the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles Of Japan) that is seen by historians as the most complete record of ancient Japan in existence today.
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