[heer-oh-hee-toh; Japn. hee-raw-hee-taw] 
(“Showa” ) 1901–89, emperor of Japan 1926–89. |
Japanese emperor who came to the throne in the 1920s. He reigned over the Japanese in World War II. After the war, he was forced to give up the claim to divine status that previous emperors had made. He died in 1989, after long outliving all the other major figures associated with the war.