Japan’s Emperor Akihito broke his silence Monday in a rare television address in which he addressed abdication rumors and expressed fears about his ability to fulfill his duties due to his advancing age.
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“When I consider that my fitness level is gradually declining, I am anxious that it may become hard for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the state with my whole being, as I have done until now”, he said.
His first-ever televised address was after the 2011 quake and disaster, which left about 20,000 people dead or missing and displaced tens of thousands.
A social media account run by the overseas edition of the People’s Daily said the timing of the emperor’s message is directly linked to his opposition to Abe’s attempt to revise the pacifist constitution formed after World War II.
No Japanese monarch has abdicated in almost 200 years, no law governs such cases, and the popular monarch’s retirement could raise delicate questions about a ban on female succession and the imperial family’s place in society.
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito, can not succeed her father because women are not allowed to inherit the throne.
“Naruhito’s birthday remarks a year ago were very similar to Akihito’s regarding history and need for contrition about wartime aggression”, says Kingston. Akihito took the throne at age 55. His elder son Crown Prince Naruhito is the likely successor.
He made it clear that he didn’t have confidence in continuing to carry out that job. “He wants to protect the law but he also has physical limits”.
“He was asking for the understanding of the Japanese people in his situation”.
Emperor Akihito didn’t directly use the word “abdication” in Monday’s message. “I think we should carefully think what is possible according to his message”, Abe said. “And that must have reached people’s hearts very heavily”.
Akihito raised concern about the impact on society when an emperor falls sick but remains in power, which experts said was an apparent reference to his father, Hirohito, who died in 1989 after a protracted illness. However it could be a drawn-out process as it would require legal reform and a vote by parliament to amend existing rules.
“He’s the quintessential representative of the post-war generation that just did not believe that there was any redeeming aspect to the war”, said Kenneth Ruoff, author of “The People’s Emperor” and director of Japanese studies at Portland State University.
Akihito’s announcement Monday was not a surprise.
According to a nationwide telephone survey by Kyodo News agency this month, almost 90 percent of the respondents said Akihito is given too much work, while more than 85 percent said an abdication should be legalized as an option to Akihito and his successors. Some analysts thought that the government had leaked the information as a “trial balloon” to test the public response to the unprecedented idea.
Japanese opinion polls show 80 to 90 percent public support changing the law so that the emperor can abdicate.
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But rarely since the advent of radio and television have Japanese emperors broadcast directly to the people. Since Japan’s current constitution took effect in 1947, establishing the emperor as the “symbol of the state”, there has been little change to the imperial system.
