Records of heads of state
Officially, the current Emperor of Japan, Akihito is the 125th in line from the first emperor Jimmu, who is variously believed to have reigned in the 1st or 7th century BC. The earliest documentary evidence is only for the 29th emperor, Kinmei (AD 509–571); however, this is sufficient such that even the most conservative of estimates still places the Japanese imperial family as among the oldest lines in the world today.
Factions in the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (自由民主党 "Jiyū-Minshutō") is the ruling party of Japan, with Party President Shinzō Abe being the Prime Minister of Japan. The Liberal Democratic Party (as well as the Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition party) is characterized by factionalism, where factions are sub-groups within a larger organisation. While factions characterize other political parties in Pacific Asia, Japanese factionalism is distinguished by its stability and institutionalization. Since the genesis of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955, factions have existed, but they have changed over time. Despite this change, factions in the party today can be traced back to their 1955 roots, a testament to the stability and institutionalized nature of Liberal Democratic Party factions.