What Is Naruhito's Net Worth?
Naruhito is the Emperor of Japan. Naruhito has a net worth of $10 million. After the abdication of his father, Akihito, Naruhito ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne in May 2019. This marked the start of the Reiwa era, and Naruhito is Japan's 126th monarch. In 1991, he formally became crown prince, two years after his father became emperor. In 2021, Naruhito was an honorary president of the postponed Summer Olympics and Summer Paralympics. He has published the books "Temuzu to tomoni: Eikoku no ninenkan" (1993) and "The Thames and I: A Memoir of Two Years at Oxford" (with Hugh Cortazzi, 2006). Naruhito's titles have included "Naruhito, His Imperial Highness Prince Hiro" (February 1960–January 1989), "His Imperial Highness The Crown Prince of Japan" (January 1989–April 2019), and "His Majesty The Emperor" (May 2019–present).
Early Life
Naruhito was born Naruhito, Prince Hiro, on February 23, 1960, in the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Japan. At the time of his birth, his father, Akihito, and mother, Michiko, were the crown prince and crown princess of Japan. Naruhito's paternal grandfather, Emperor Shōwa, was the emperor of Japan from December 1926 to January 1989. Naruhito has two siblings, brother Fumihito (who has also been known as Prince Aya, Prince Akishino, and the Crown Prince of Japan) and sister Sayako (known as Princess Nori before her marriage to Yoshiki Kuroda). As a child, Naruhito enjoyed mountain climbing, and he learned to play the violin. During his youth, he stumbled upon "the remains of an ancient roadway on the palace grounds," and he later stated, "I have had a keen interest in roads since childhood. On roads, you can go to the unknown world. Since I have been leading a life where I have few chances to go out freely, roads are a precious bridge to the unknown world, so to speak." At the age of 14, Naruhito traveled to Melbourne, Australia, where he stayed with businessman Colin Harper and his family. During his time there, Naruhito played violin for dignitaries at a Government House state dinner that was hosted by Governor-General Sir John Kerr.
Naruhito was enrolled in the Gakushūin school system at the age of 4, and he became a member of the geography club in senior high. In 1982, he earned a Bachelor of Letters degree in history from Gakushuin University, and the following year he took a three-month English course before enrolling at Merton College, Oxford University, in the U.K. He studied there until 1986, but he didn't turn in his thesis, "A Study of Navigation and Traffic on the Upper Thames in the 18th Century," until three years later. During his time at Oxford, Naruhito joined the drama society and the Japan society, was the honorary president of the judo and karate clubs, played inter-college tennis, took golf lessons, and climbed the highest peaks in Scotland (Ben Nevis), Wales (Snowdon), and England (Scafell Pike). During that time, he also met several members of European royalty, such as the British royal family, Spain's King Juan Carlos I, and the Netherlands' Queen Beatrix. After returning to Japan, Naruhito earned a Master of Humanities in history from Gakushūin University in 1988.
Crown Prince of Japan
In 1998, Naruhito was a patron of both the Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics. He is a longtime supporter of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and he attended the 2006 Nippon Jamboree, which was organized by the Scout Association of Japan. In 1994, he became an honorary vice president of the charitable organization the Japanese Red Cross Society. In 2001, Naruhito visited the U.K. and met with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle. In 2012, he took over his father's duties for two weeks while Emperor Akihito recovered from heart surgery. Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefectures named Naruhito's birthday "Mount Fuji Day" because he reportedly loves the mountain, which is the tallest one in Japan.
Emperor of Japan
On December 1, 2017, it was announced that Emperor Akihito would be abdicating the throne on April 30, 2019, and that Naruhito would be ascending to the throne on May 1, 2019. After Naruhito became Emperor of Japan, his father became known as Emperor Emeritus. During his speech at a ceremony at the Imperial Palace, Emperor Naruhito stated, "I swear that I will reflect deeply on the course followed by the Emperor Emeritus … and fulfil my responsibility as the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people of Japan." According to Article 4 of the Constitution of Japan, the Emperor's role is representative and ceremonial and doesn't involve any powers related to government. Naruhito's enthronement ceremony occurred on October 22, 2019, and on July 23, 2021, he opened the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which had been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, and their first state visit took place in June 2023 in Indonesia.
(Photo by Rodrigo Reyes Marin – Pool/Getty Images)
Personal Life
In 1986, Naruhito met Masako Owada, who was working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while attending the University of Tokyo. The Imperial Household Agency disapproved of Masako, but while she spent two years studying at Balliol College, Oxford, Naruhito stayed interested in her. He proposed three times, and the Imperial Palace announced the couple's engagement in January 1993. They married on June 9, 1993, at the Imperial Shinto Hall with 800 guests in attendance. In late 1999, it was announced that Masako was pregnant, but she suffered a miscarriage. Naruhito and Masako welcomed Aiko, Princess Toshi, on December 1, 2001.
Honors
Naruhito's national honors include the Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum (1980), The Golden Pheasant Award of the Scout Association of Japan (1989), The Golden Medal of Merit of the Japanese Red Cross (2019), The Golden Medal of Honorary Member of the Japanese Red Cross (2019), the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum (2019), the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (2019), the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers (2019), and The Order of Culture (2019). He has received numerous foreign honors as well. Naruhito was honored with the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria in 1999, Denmark's Knight of the Order of the Elephant in 2004, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 2000, the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1982, Jordan's Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance in 1995, and Kuwait's Collar of the Order of Mubarak the Great in 2012.
He received Luxembourg's Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau in 2017, Malaysia's Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm in 2012, the Netherlands' Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown in 1991 and King Willem-Alexander Inauguration Medal in 2013, Norway's Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav in 2001, the Philippines' Grand Collar of the Order of Sikatuna (Rank of Raja) in 2002, Portugal's Grand Cross of the Order of Christ in 1993, Spain's Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III in 2008, Sweden's Knight of the Order of the Seraphim in 2007, and the United Arab Emirates' Member First Class of the Order of Zayed in 1995. Tonga has presented Naruhito with the Coronation Medal of H.M. King George Tupou V (2008), Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Crown of Tonga (2008), and the Coronation Medal of H.M. King Tupou VI (2015). In 1991, he received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Oxford.
