Government of Japan
The Current Emperor of Japan (今上天皇) is Akihito. He was officially enthroned on November 12, 1990. He is styled as "His Imperial Majesty" (天皇陛下), and his reign bears the era name of Heisei (平成). Naruhito, the Crown Prince of Japan, is the heir apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Enthronement
This ancient rite was held in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan, until 1990 when the enthronement ceremony for Emperor Akihito took place at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The ceremony is not public, and the regalia are generally seen only by the emperor himself and a few Shinto priests. However, an account in "Time" from the enthronement of Akihito's father Hirohito in 1928 reveals a few details. First is a three-hour ceremony in which the emperor ritually informed his ancestors that he had assumed the throne. This was followed by the enthronement itself, which took place in an enclosure called the "Takamikura", which contained a great square pedestal upholding three octagonal pedestals topped by a simple chair. This was surrounded by an octagonal pavilion with curtains, surmounted by a great golden phoenix.