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.
Emperor of Japan
In Japanese mythology, according to "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki", the Emperor and his family are said to be direct descendants of the sun-goddess Amaterasu. During World War II, the role of the Emperor as head of the Shinto religion was exploited, which resulted in the creation of State Shinto and an Imperial cult. Following the end of the Second World War, the Allies issued the Shinto Directive which abolished the state support for the Shinto religion, leading to the Humanity Declaration of the incumbent Emperor which refuted the idea that the Emperor is a living divine being, and dismissed the importance of "myths and legends" for the Emperor's status. However, the Emperors have continued to perform many traditional ceremonies privately.