The comments are unusual as Japan’s royals are not supposed to wade into political matters under a post-WWII Constitution imposed by occupying USA forces, which stripped Akihito’s father of his divine status.
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The emperor said a decline in his fitness levels had turned his mind to the future. The emperor has had health problems in recent years.
The Japanese emperor hinted that he wished to step down yesterday (Monday), in an unprecedented move that could result in the first abdication in the country’s modern history and an overhaul of its imperial constitution.
“I would like to take seriously the fact that the Emperor addressed the nation”, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
The Emperor, in an extraordinary television address broadcast, on Monday, via the Associated Press, spoke publicly about his decision for the first time. The first time he addressed the people in a recorded message was after the 2011 tsunami, which claimed nearly 16,000 lives.
During his 27-year reign Emperor Akihito has spoken of his deep belief in pacifism, sought forgiveness for Japan’s wartime atrocities and tried to bring the Imperial Throne closer to the people.
With Akihito apparently rejecting a regency, the only options would appear to be revising the Imperial Household Law or enacting a special law allowing him to abdicate, said Naotaka Kimizuka, an expert in monarchies at Kanto Gakuin University. Almost half of Japan’s emperors quit the throne while alive, according to Japanese state broadcaster NHK.
According to Japanese law, Akihito, 82, must serve as emperor for life.
“I think we have to thoroughly think what we can do to accommodate his concerns, taking into consideration the emperor’s age and the current burden of official duties”, Abe said.
Attention will now shift to Parliament, which can change the law. There’s now no legal process for an emperor to step down in Japan, and a law would have to be amended for him to do so.
Palace officials quickly denied the report, because the emperor is not supposed to say anything that would cause a change to the existing system, including his constitutional status.
Next in line to the throne is Crown Prince Naruhito, 56, followed by his younger brother, Prince Akishino, 50.
In a rare national address, Emperor Akihito said declining health may force him to review his duties.
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FILE – In this August 15, 1945, file photo, Japanese people lower their head toward the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, as then Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announces on radio that Japan was defeated in the World War II.
