Hirohito's state funeral was held on 24 February at Shinjuku Gyo-en, when he was buried near his parents, Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei, at the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Hachiōji, Tokyo.

His death was announced to the public at 7:55 am during a press conference by the Grand Steward of Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Shōichi Fujimori, who also revealed details about his cancer for the first time.

[7] It was a funeral carefully designed both as a tribute to the late Emperor and as a showcase for the peaceful, affluent society into which Japan had developed during his reign.

[7] At 9:35 a.m., a black motor hearse carrying the body of Emperor Shōwa left the Imperial Palace for the two-mile-long drive to the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, where the Shinto and state ceremonies were held.

A brass band played a dirge composed for the funeral of Emperor Shōwa's great-grandmother in the late 19th century, and cannon shots were fired in accompaniment.

The route of the cortege through Tokyo was lined by an estimated 800,000 spectators and 32,000 special police, who had been mobilized to guard against potential terrorist attacks.

[7] The 40-minute procession, accompanied by a brass band, ended when it pulled into the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, until 1949 reserved for the use of the Imperial family and now one of Tokyo's most popular parks.

Because of the low temperatures, many guests used chemical hand-warmers and wool blankets to keep warm as the three-hour Shinto and state ceremonies progressed.

Attendants wearing sokutai and bearing white and yellow banners, shields and signs of the sun and moon, led a 225-member procession as musicians played traditional court music (gagaku).

[7] His son and daughter-in-law, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko carrying their own large umbrellas, followed the palanquin with other family members.

[8] The procession passed through a small wooden torii gate, the Shinto symbol marking the entrance to sacred space, and filed into the Sojoden.

To the accompaniment of chanting, officials approached the altar of the Emperor, holding aloft wooden trays of sea bream, wild birds, kelp, seaweed, mountain potatoes, melons and other delicacies.

[8] Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita delivered a short eulogy, in which he said that the Shōwa era would be remembered for its eventful and tumultuous times, including World War II and the eventual reconstruction of Japan.

Officials also overrode protocol to give United States President George H. W. Bush a front-row seat, even though tradition would have placed him toward the back, because of his short time in office.

[7][8] Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita held meetings with roughly forty visiting world leaders, in what was described as an act of "funeral diplomacy [ja]".

[5] With virtually all television stations having suspended normal schedules, major Japanese video rental stores saw a surge in customers.

[8] Some anti-monarchy groups staged small protests on the day of the funeral, with eight hundred in Tokyo calling on the government to apologize for war crimes committed in the Emperor's name.

[17] Although President Roh Tae-woo of South Korea issued a statement expressing condolences, a government official added, "We reserve further comment, considering the unhappy past and the current Korea-Japan relationship.