Emperor Akihito greeted the public Tuesday on his 70th birthday, waving to crowds of well-wishers from an Imperial Palace balcony together with members of the Imperial family.

The Emperor appeared three times in the morning on the Chowa Palace balcony with Empress Michiko, Crown Prince Naruhito, Prince Akishino, and Princess Kiko, Prince Akishino's wife.

Princess Masako, wife of Crown Prince Naruhito, was not present as she is recuperating from a bout of shingles.

The Emperor, in a meeting with the media ahead of his birthday, expressed his hopes for peace, noting in particular Japan's earlier history of almost constant warfare and political instability.

"I believe that, with a full understanding of our history, we must strive to bring peace to the whole world and security to all people," he remarked.

The Emperor looked back on developments during his 15 years on the throne and called the Heisei Era "peaceful" compared with the "difficult" first 15 years of the reign of his father, Emperor Showa.

The Emperor said Japan experienced "a difficult time" and went through "an almost constant state of conflict with China" during the first 15 years of the Showa Era.

He also mentioned the coups and assassinations in Japan during that era, in which four current and former prime ministers were slain.