Akihito was born in the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan, and is the elder son and the fifth child of the Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and Empress Kōjun (Nagako). Titled Prince Tsugu (継宮, Tsugu-no-miya) as a child, he was raised and educated by his private tutors and then attended the elementary and secondary departments of the Peers' School (Gakushūin) from 1940 to 1952.[8] Unlike his predecessors in the Imperial family, he did not receive a commission as an army officer, at the request of his father, Hirohito.