Japan’s Emperor Akihito, the first to serve from the outset in a purely ceremonial role, signaled his wish to step down in a matter of years, national broadcaster NHK reported.
The emperor, 82, has reigned for 28 years, after succeeding his father, Hirohito, in 1989. He would be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, who is 56.
NHK on Wednesday cited unidentified people at the Imperial Household Agency and said the Crown Prince and other family members accepted Akihito’s wishes.
The NHK report said Akihito has told palace officials that he doesn’t wish to cling to his title with drastically reduced responsibility or by arranging a substitute. Kyodo News agency carried a similar report quoting government officials.
Later on Wednesday night, Kyodo said Imperial Household Agency official Shinichiro Yamamoto denied the report, adding that the emperor has avoided commenting because the postwar Constitution bans imperial involvement in politics. He said there has been no formal announcement.
Akihito’s reign is called the Heisei era—whose name translates as “achieving peace”—in the Japanese calendar. While Japan also uses the Western calendar, years are traditionally counted from the start of the reign of each emperor. This year is Heisei 28.
Serving in a strictly symbolic role as prescribed by the US-imposed Constitution, and the first to marry a commoner, Akihito has been credited with helping modernize Japan’s monarchy.
His reign began as the nation was at the zenith of its economic power and just a year before its “bubble economy” burst, ushering in decades of economic stagnation.
Raising stature
“This would be huge because Akihito is enormously popular with the public; he is a voice of reconciliation and looks at dealing with the lingering grievances from World War II as his father’s unfinished business,” said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Japan. “He has done more than all of Japan’s politicians put together in terms of raising Japan’s stature in the region—he is known as the people’s Emperor.”
Kingston said it was likely the decision was driven by the Emperor’s advancing age and deteriorating health.
Akihito underwent almost four hours of surgery for a successful heart bypass in 2012, and was hospitalized for pneumonia the previous year. The Crown Prince served as regent while his father was recovering. The Emperor also had prostate surgery in 2003.
Imperial traditions
While abdication is unheard of in modern Japanese history, Akihito has broken with other imperial traditions.
He was the first emperor to marry a commoner, and Empress Michiko was the first who didn’t use a wet nurse for their three children.
Akihito also surprised the nation in 2013 when he chose to be cremated upon his death, with his remains placed in a mausoleum smaller than those of his predecessors, with Michiko’s remains alongside—a plan that will break the imperial family’s burial custom that lasted for 400 years.
Busy schedule
Despite his age, the emperor has maintained a busy schedule and attended ceremonies, greeted foreign dignitaries and traveled overseas and around Japan, such as visiting towns to comfort residents following deadly earthquakes.
Akihito has also attempted to soothe some of the wounds from World War II, traveling to China early in his reign and visiting major battlefields. He visited the western Pacific nation of Palau last year, and the Philippines, one of Asian victims of Japan’s wartime aggression, earlier this year.
In visits across Asia and beyond, Akihito addressed the issue of the past aggression Japan’s military carried out in his father’s name. In 1990 he apologized for Japan’s colonization of Korea from 1910 to 1945. Two years later, during the first visit by a Japanese monarch to China, he acknowledged that Japan had “inflicted great suffering” on its neighbor in the first half of the century.
No rules on living succession
The Imperial law does not specify rules about a living succession, including what happens to his post-retirement status. Kyodo quoted unidentified government sources that a succession while he is alive requires a revision to the law.
The last succession from a living emperor was about 200 years ago.
According to the traditional count, Akihito is 125th in a line of emperors that began with Jimmu in 660 B.C. Historical records suggest the throne dates to at least the fifth century, making it the oldest surviving hereditary monarchy.
‘Deep remorse’
Prior to Japan’s defeat, emperors, including Hirohito, had been traditionally regarded as living deities, directly descended from the sun goddess Amaterasu. The nation’s people were considered their subjects.
In a speech last year to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Emperor Akihito expressed “deep remorse” over his country’s actions in the conflict. The remarks—his first such expression of regret since coming to the throne in 1989—contrasted with those of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who said in a statement at the time that Japan shouldn’t be expected to continually apologize.
“It’s not an economic issue but the Emperor is very widely respected,” Robert Feldman, chief economist at Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co. in Tokyo, said on Bloomberg TV. “In Japan the notion of the Emperor as a symbol of the state is very important. From an economic point of view, it’s very important for social cohesion.”
Japan’s currency was little changed after the news, trading at 104.63 per dollar as of 8:29 p.m. in Tokyo. The yen has climbed almost 15 percent this year, escalating the challenges for Akihito’s nation, which tumbled into stagnation and deflation in the early years of his reign.
Emperor Kokaku, who gave up the throne in 1817, was the last emperor to abdicate, NHK said. There is no provision in the Imperial Household Law for such a move, and a legal change is likely to be required, according to the public broadcaster.
His successor, Naruhito, is married to a former diplomat, Crown Princess Masako, who is still recovering from a stress-induced mental condition, and has one child, Princess Aiko. Naruhito’s successor would be the son of his younger brother, as women cannot succeed to the throne.
(Bloomberg News and AP)
Image credits: AP/Eugene Hoshiko