From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Michiko (born Michiko Shōda, 20 October 1934) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who served as the Empress consort of Japan as the wife of Akihito, the 125th Emperor of Japan reigning from 7 January 1989 to 30 April 2019. Michiko married Crown Prince Akihito and became the Crown Princess of Japan in 1959. She was the first commoner and the first member of a religious minority (her family is Roman Catholic) to marry into the Japa…
