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Japan’s Emperor Hints of Abdication, but It’s Complicated

Japanese Emperor Akihito has used a rare video address to the public to say he is anxious that it might become hard for him to carry out his duties fully due to his age. “I am concerned that it will become more and more hard for me to fulfill my duties as a symbolic emperor”, Akihito said in his prerecorded, 10-minute message.

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“But when I think of my declining physical strength, I’m anxious it will be hard to perform my duties as a symbol of the state”, he said in the message, which was broadcast on national television networks, as quoted by the Japan Times.

The concern expressed by the 82-year-old Emperor, who had a heart bypass surgery in 2012 and has received hormone treatment to prevent a recurrence of prostate cancer following the removal of a tumor in 2003, are entirely understandable, even though he is not believed to have any pressing health problems requiring an immediate abdication.

Japan’s Emperor Akihito has hinted that he may abdicate, saying his age could make it hard for him to carry out his duties.

Reading from a sheaf of papers, he warned that if he were to die on the throne, funeral rituals for an emperor would call for “heavy mourning” events daily for two months, followed by funeral activities lasting one year.

The duties of the current emperor include opening parliament, receiving foreign ambassadors and being the nation’s griever in disasters like the March 2011 quake and tsunami in northern Japan.

FILE – Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito (L-R), Emperor Akihito, Crown Princess Masako and Empress Michiko stand in front of well-wishers who gathered to celebrate the monarch’s 80th birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, December 23, 2013.

The government is said to be drafting a more detailed response to the emperor’s speech.

A major milestone year marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II has passed, and in two years we will be welcoming the 30th year of Heisei.

The emperor has also been a strong proponent of preserving the pacifist constitution that Abe wants to revise to expand the powers of the military.

And it was the first time he had spoken so directly about his vision for the imperial family, delivering what amounted to a valedictory address and a mission statement for future generations.

“In coping with the ageing of the Emperor, I think it is not possible to continue reducing perpetually the Emperor’s acts in matters of state and his duties as the symbol of the State”, he said.

Emperor Akihito came to the throne on 7 January 1989.

Speaking to reporters following the speech, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he took the emperor’s words “seriously”.

Monday’s subject was Akihito’s advancing age, growing ill-health and his desire to hand over the public burdens of the monarchy to his son and successor Crown Prince Naruhito, now 56. The Japanese Emperor said that his age is effecting his ability to carry out his duties.

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If Akihito did step down, it would be the first time an emperor did so since 1817.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe