Abe said he took the emperor’s remarks “seriously”, adding it was necessary to consider what steps could be taken.
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“He’s not allowed to ask a very simple thing, which is, ‘I want the law changed that would allow me to retire, ‘ ” said Michael Cucek, a political science professor at Tokyo’s Temple and Waseda universities.
Japan’s postwar constitution bars the emperor from any active political involvement.
Born in 1933, Akihito was heir to Emperor Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought World War II.
It was only the second time that Akihito has spoken directly to the Japanese people over television.
Emperor Akihito, 82, said in the 10-minute pre-recorded message he feared his age and failing health could impact his ability to fulfill his duties as a symbol of the state.
Ever since my accession to the throne, I have carried out the acts of the emperor in matters of state, and at the same time I have spent my days searching for and contemplating on what is the desirable role of the emperor, who is designated to be the symbol of the state by the constitution of Japan.
Other conservatives worry devoting political energy to discussing abdication could sidetrack Abe’s push to revise the USA -drafted pacifist constitution, which many conservatives see as a symbol of Japan’s humiliating defeat in World War Two.
Japanese national broadcaster NHK reported last month that Akihito had informed the Imperial Household Agency, which manages the emperor’s affairs, that he wished to abdicate “in a few years” because of declining health.
“On the nature of the emperor’s official duties, in view of his age and the state of the burden his duties place upon him, I think we must give thought to the strain on the emperor and thoroughly consider what we can do”, Abe said.
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.
A screen displays Japanese Emperor Akihito delivering a speech in Tokyo, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. Emperor Akihito, is no doubt ready to resign, but the question is whether he will be allowed to make that decision by the Japanese and the elected leaders or not.
This is the emperor’s second video message, following the first released after the 2011 natural disaster and tsunami in northeastern Japan.
The popularity of the royal family could help the emperor’s case.
They see the charter as a symbol of Japan’s humiliating defeat in World War Two. 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.
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-Has adopted a more modern style, making efforts to draw the imperial family closer to the people.
