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| Crown Prince Naruhito and Emperor Akihito |
Japan’s emperor will abdicate and allow his eldest son to ascend the
chrysanthemum throne on New Year’s Day 2019, media reports said, as the
government prepares legal changes for the country’s first abdication for
two centuries.
Emperor Akihito, who turned 83 last month, hinted in August that he wanted to retire after expressing concern that his age could hinder his ability to carry out ceremonial duties.
In a rare televised address, Akihito said he wanted an orderly
imperial succession – cautious wording that many interpreted as a desire
to abdicate.
“I am concerned it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties
as the symbol of the state with my whole body and soul as I have done
so far,” he said.
Abdication is not possible under current Japanese law, but last month
a panel of experts said it would support special legislation to allow
Akihito to step down without conditions.
Amid strong public sympathy for the emperor’s predicament, the
government is drawing up measures that would see Crown Prince Naruhito
to ascend the throne on 1 January 2019, Japanese newspapers said.
A panel of experts has been discussing the issue since late last
year, with its official recommendations expected later this year. The
government could submit a special law to parliament on abdication as
early as this spring, the reports said.
Akihito said in August that 2018 would mark his 30th year on the
throne, which was interpreted as his favoured moment to step down and
allow the 56-year-old Naruhito to become the country’s 126th emperor.
The chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said on Tuesday he was
not aware that discussions on a possible abdication had reached such an
advanced stage. “The experts are prioritising lightening the emperor’s
burden in their discussions and things are still at a stage where no
direction has emerged,” he told a news conference.
Akihito had surgery for prostate cancer in 2003 and a heart bypass
operation in 2012, and was in hospital with pneumonia in 2011.
He ascended the throne after the death in 1989 of his father,
Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought the second world war Throughout his
reign, Akihito and Empress Michiko, 82, have used their public roles to
promote reconciliation between Japan and its former enemies.
They are planning to visit Vietnam and Thailand this spring in what
would be their first overseas trip since January last year, when they
travelled to the Philippines to remember soldiers and civilians who died
during the war.
The last time a monarch abdicated in Japan was when KÅkaku gave up the throne in 1817.
Japan’s main opposition Democratic party opposes one-off legislation
to facilitate Akihito’s abdication, arguing that the imperial household
law should be revised to make living successions possible for all future
monarchs.
In response, the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said last week that
“politicians must demonstrate the decency not to turn the issue into
political fodder”.
