According to the post-war constitution, the Japanese emperor can not interfere with how the country is governed.
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Japan’s postwar constitution bars the emperor from any active political involvement.
A Japanese monarch has not stepped down in about 200 years, but abdication hardly unprecedented in Japanese history.
He said he sometimes wondered whether there was a better way to ease such a strain, leaving unsaid the obvious answer: Permit the emperor to abdicate while he is still relatively healthy.
The emperor is meant to act as a symbolic sovereign representing the state and the unity of the people.
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. To that end, Akihito has visited and offered prayers for all the fallen at former battle sites like Saipan and Palau. At the age of 74, for example, the current Emperor met with 120 foreign dignitaries and other people, 60 percent more than Emperor Showa.
In his message, Emperor Akihito did not explicitly refer to abdication, as that would require political and legal procedures.
Akihito is Japan’s 125th emperor and records claim the imperial line has been unbroken for 14 centuries.
While speaking only elliptically on the topic, as the Japanese Constitution forbids him from meddling in politics, it’s clear Emperor Akihito is hoping he will be the next.
Public broadcaster NHK reported last month that Akihito wanted to step down within the next few years.
As Prince Akishino is the younger brother of the crown prince, he will not assume the position of crown prince if the current crown prince is enthroned as emperor under the current law, leaving the position of crown prince vacant.
The Japanese law, which says an emperor serves until death, has no provision for abdication.
“Legally, he can’t request a revision of law”, said Hashimoto, an expert on the imperial system.
But once Abe opens debate over revising imperial household law, citizens will use the change to target a greater issue at stake-gender equality-warned Kenneth Rouff, director of the center for Japanese studies at Portland State University. “The practice in the Imperial Family has been that the death of the Emperor called for events of heavy mourning, continuing every day for two months, followed by funeral events which continue for one year”, the emperor said.
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Japanese premier Shinzo Abe said the government would “seriously” discuss the constitutional changes required to enable the emperor to step down. Emperor Akihito will be succeeded by his eldest son, 56 year-old Crown Prince Naruhito.
