“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”, Akihito said during the 11-minute taped message. The first one was in 2011, when an quake and tsunami devastated the northeast coast of Japan causing a nuclear disaster in Fukushima.
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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. Although there is wide public support for the law to be amended to allow Akihito to step down, conservatives are opposed to any change.
Under the constitution the emperor is not allowed to have political powers so a wish to abdicate could be seen as him interfering in politics.
PM Shinzo Abe said the government would take the remarks “seriously” and discuss what can be done.
“I am concerned that it will become more and more hard for me to fulfill my duties as a symbolic emperor”, he said. Akihito took the throne at age 55.
Akihito clearly does not want to do only half the job, analysts say, and carefully parsed his words so as to convey this. “He wanted everyone to understand his current situation”.
After the initial surprise, the public warmly welcomed the reported abdication plan, saying the hard-working emperor deserves to enjoy his long-overdue retirement.
The palace said on Friday he would be speaking about his “feelings regarding his duties as a symbol of the nation”. “Since he doesn’t hold any right to get involved into politics, he chose this way to talk about his opinion as an individual”.
For instance, the current monarch has been active in promoting reconciliation efforts both within and outside of Japan after World War II, which was fought by the East Asian country under his father’s name, Emperor Hirohito.
Akihito’s son came to Switzerland to mark 150 years of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Japan.
He did suggest a need to consider how to make the succession process smoother.
“As we are in the midst of a rapidly ageing society, I would like to talk to you today about what would be a desirable role of the emperor in a time when the emperor, too, becomes advanced in age”, he said.
Akihito’s announcement Monday was not a surprise.
Akihito said he doesn’t believe these problems requiring an immediate abdication, but he has a desire to step aside.
A recent survey in Japan showed 86 percent of citizens thought abdication should be legalized as an option for Akihito or his successors.
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What relationship does the emperor have with the Japanese people? As a effect the emperor could only do so in the most indirect words in the address.
