Editing Emperor (section)

===Japan===
{{Main|Emperor of Japan}}
[[File:Emperor Showa.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Emperor Shōwa]], the last Japanese emperor having ruled with prerogative powers, combined with assumption of divinity (photographed 1926 on his ascendancy to the [[Chrysanthemum Throne]])]]
The earliest emperor recorded in {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Kojiki]]}} and {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Nihon Shoki]]}} is [[Emperor Jimmu]], who is said to be a descendant of [[Amaterasu]]'s grandson Ninigi who descended from Heaven ([[Tenson kōrin]]). If one believes what is written in {{Lang|ja-latn|Nihon Shoki}}, the emperors have an unbroken direct male lineage that goes back more than 2,600 years.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hays|first=Jeffrey|title=JAPANESE EMPEROR AND IMPERIAL FAMILY {{!}} Facts and Details|url=http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat16/sub111/item586.html|access-date=2020-11-27|website=factsanddetails.com|language=en}}</ref>

In ancient Japan, the earliest titles for the sovereign were either ヤマト大王/大君 (''yamato [[Okimi|ōkimi]]'', Grand King of Yamato), 倭王/倭国王 (''waō''/''wakokuō'', King of Wa, used externally), or 治天下大王 (''amenoshita shiroshimesu [[Okimi|ōkimi]]'', Grand King who rules all under heaven, used internally).

In 607, [[Empress Suiko]] sent a diplomatic document to China, which she wrote "the emperor of the land of the rising sun (日出處天子) sends a document to the emperor of the land of the setting sun (日沒處天子)" and began to use the title emperor externally.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191225163843/https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/seminar/19/00080/093000003/ Satoshi Yabuuchi, ''時代背景から知る 仏像の秘密'', The Nikkei], 10 October 2019.</ref> As early as the 7th century, the word 天皇 (which can be read either as ''sumera no mikoto'', divine order, or as ''tennō'', Heavenly Emperor, the latter being derived from a Tang Chinese term referring to the Pole star around which all other stars revolve) began to be used. The earliest use of this term is found on a wooden slat, or ''[[mokkan]]'', unearthed in Asuka-mura, Nara Prefecture in 1998. The slat dated back to the reign of [[Emperor Tenmu]] and [[Empress Jitō]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180318174952/http://bunshun.jp/articles/-/6397 Masataka Kondo, ''ご存知ですか 3月2日は飛鳥池遺跡で「天皇」木簡が出土したと発表された日です''], 2 March 2018.</ref> The reading 'Tennō' has become the standard title for the Japanese sovereign up to the present age. The term 帝 (''mikado'', Emperor) is also found in literary sources.

In the Japanese language, the word ''tennō'' is restricted to Japan's own monarch; ''kōtei'' (皇帝) is usually used for foreign emperors. Historically, [[Daijō-tennō|retired emperors]] often kept power over a child-emperor as de facto regent. For a long time, a ''[[shōgun]]'' (formally the imperial [[Military dictatorship|military dictator]], but made hereditary) or an [[Sesshō and Kampaku|imperial regent]] wielded actual political power. In fact, through much of Japanese history, the emperor has been little more than a figurehead. The [[Meiji Restoration]] restored practical abilities and the political system under [[Emperor Meiji]].<ref>Henry Kissinger on China. 2011, p. 79.</ref> The last shogun [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] resigned in 1868.

After World War II, all claims of divinity were dropped (see [[Ningen-sengen]]). The Diet acquired all prerogative powers of the Crown, reverting the latter to a ceremonial role.<ref>Although the Emperor of Japan is classified as constitutional monarch among political scientists, the current constitution of Japan defines him only as 'a symbol of the nation' and no subsequent legislation states his status as the [[Head of state]] or equates the Crown synonymously with any government establishment.</ref> By 1979, after the short-lived [[Central African Empire]] (1976–1979), [[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]] was the only monarch in the world with the title emperor.{{Failed verification|date=February 2023}}

As of the early 21st century, Japan's succession law prohibits a female from ascending the throne. With the birth of a [[Aiko, Princess Toshi|daughter]] as the first child of the then-Crown Prince [[Naruhito]], Japan [[Naruhito#Marriage and family|considered abandoning that rule]]. However, shortly after the announcement that [[Kiko, Crown Princess of Japan|Princess Kiko]] was pregnant with her third child, the proposal to alter the [[Imperial Household Law]] was suspended by then-Prime Minister [[Junichiro Koizumi]]. On 3 January 2007, as the child turned out to be a [[Prince Hisahito of Akishino|son]], Prime Minister [[Shinzō Abe]] announced that he would drop the proposal.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070103/ap_on_re_as/japan_imperial_succession| title = Japan Imperial Succession}}</ref><!-- Keep this section updated in line with the page for Emperor of Japan -->

Emperor Naruhito is the 126th monarch according to Japan's [[List of emperors of Japan|traditional order of succession]]. The second and third in line of succession are [[Fumihito, Prince Akishino]] and [[Prince Hisahito]]. Historically, Japan has had eight reigning empresses who used the genderless title ''Tennō'', rather than the female consort title ''kōgō'' (皇后) or ''chūgū'' (中宮). There is ongoing discussion of the [[Japanese Imperial succession controversy]]. <!--
Emperor's highest wife is called Kogo, and the female emperor is not called Kogo but Tenno as her male counterparts. The female emperor should be called (天皇 Ten-no) but Empress is usual in Western parlances. However, how should female emperor's husband be called? It has not been provided in Japan yet, because no female emperor was married when reigning: only single women (widows, unmarrieds) have been female emperors in history, or a wife or widow of an emperor or Crown Prince was made female Tenno (i. e., she was already Kogo or something like it).
-->Although current Japanese law prohibits female succession, all Japanese emperors claim to trace their lineage to ''[[Amaterasu]]'', the Sun Goddess of the [[Shinto|Shintō]] [[religion]]. <!-- Shintō religion does not recognize a "supreme" kami, rather, kami and humans alike are viewed equally.--> Thus, the emperor is thought to be the highest authority of the Shinto religion, and one of his duties is to perform Shinto rituals for the people of Japan.