Akihito repeatedly said he is aware of the constraints, and as expected, avoided explicit mention of abdication, which could have violated those restrictions.
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Japan’s emperor is defined in the constitution as a symbol of the “unity of the people” and has no political power.
Nonetheless, abdication is a sensitive issue.
No Japanese monarch has stepped down in almost 200 years and no law governs such cases. 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.
“He (Akihito) is always thinking about the people of Japan”.
Tsuchida is a former Imperial Navy sailor who fought on the island of Peleliu, in the Western Pacific, during World War II.
His wife Empress Michiko was a commoner when they met and they chose to raise their children themselves, forgoing the traditional use of nannies.
It was the second time Akihito had addressed the public in a video message. If he were to abdicate, it would be the first time a Japanese emperor has stepped down since Emperor Kokaku in 1817.
Experts and media have speculated that Akihito will seek to abdicate while he is still in good health so he can monitor Naruhito, who is seen not quite ready for succession.
“I would like to take seriously the fact that the Emperor addressed the nation”, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
Japanese Emperor Akihito said Monday he is concerned his weakening health may make it hard to fulfil his duties, in a speech seen as signalling a possible future abdication.
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.
Emperor Akihito was enthroned at the age of 55 upon the death of his 87-year-old father Emperor Hirohito in 1989.
While much of the discussion has centered on Akihito’s age and health, he obliquely introduced at the end of his address another possible argument for abdication: a smoother succession process.
Humble and soft-spoken, Akihito has received praise for efforts to heal the wounds of Japan’s wartime and colonial era.
Japan’s emperor is hinting he wants to leave the Chrysanthemum Throne.
“Considering the emperor’s duties, as well as his age and the burden (of the job), we have to firmly look at what we can do”. The emperor’s birthday – December 23 – is a national holiday, when tens of thousands of well-wishers gather outside the Imperial Palace to greet the royal couple.
Japan’s imperial house is said to be the world’s oldest hereditary monarchy, and according to legend stretches back some 2,600 years in an unbroken line.
Akihito still works, though his aides have shifted some of his duties to Crown Prince Naruhito – the elder of his two sons and most likely successor.
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But the move is opposed by some more conservative sections of society.
