– Japan’s Emperor Akihito has strongly indicated he wants to step down, saying he fears his age will make it hard to fulfil his duties, BBC News reports.
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But agency officials weren’t quick enough in holding sufficient discussions internally and with the Prime Minister’s Office, a process needed in view of constitutional limits on remarks by the Emperor, they said.
He was different from his father, Emperor Hirohito who preceded him and is considered a modernizer who took an active role in reconciling the former victims of past Japanese imperial aggression.
A couple looks at television screens showing a speech to the nation by Japanese Emperor Akihito.
However, Akihito did appear to address the issue indirectly, commenting on his poor health (he has had cancer and heart surgery in recent years) as a possible segue to a discussion of what might be possible if the emperor can not perform his duties. “Considering the emperor’s duties, as well as his age and the burden, we have to firmly look at what we can do”.
Abdication is not allowed under imperial law, largely inherited from the pre-war Constitution which banned the practice as a potential risk to political stability. Naruhito, 56, is first in line to the Chrysanthemum throne, followed by his younger brother, Prince Akishino, 50, whose 9-year-old son is ranked third. Naruhito has only a daughter, and women can not inherit Japan’s throne.
He eventually came away with the feeling that it would be best to abdicate once he becomes unable to perform his duties to his satisfaction, and shared his thoughts with Empress Michiko and Crown Prince Naruhito, the sources said.
“The emperor was so distressed by the fact (his father’s death) had slowed down social activities that he has been thinking what can be done to make a transition smoother in the future”, Isao Tokoro, a Kyoto Sangyo University expert on the imperial family, said on public broadcaster NHK.
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Though Akihito has no political power, he has taken part in hundreds of public engagements and has sought to improve Japan’s relationship with other Asian countries in the aftermath of the Second World War.
