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Reuters

Japan’s Emperor Akihito is likely to abdicate at the end of March 2019 and Crown Prince Naruhito is expected to ascend the throne in April, the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in nearly two centuries, the Asahi newspaper reported on Friday.
The government is in the final stage of formalising the schedule, said the Asahi, citing several sources.
In June, Japan’s parliament passed a law allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate and the government needs to hammer out the details including the timing.
Japan’s top government spokesman denied the Asahi report.

“We are not aware of the report and there is not such fact,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference. “We will continue to discuss appropriately and will do our best to carry out the emperor’s abdication smoothly.”
Akihito, 83, who has had heart surgery and treatment for prostate cancer, said in rare public remarks last year he feared age might make it hard for him to continue his duties.
He will be succeeded by Naruhito, 57, and a new era will start from April 1, the newspaper reported.

The abdication law, which applies only to Akihito and not to future emperors, included a resolution to debate letting female royals stay in the imperial family after marriage but did not touch on the controversial topic of allowing women to inherit.
Asahi said the expected 2019 abdication schedule would minimise the impact on people in changing to a new imperial reign from the current Heisei Era, which started in 1989 after the death of Akihito’s father Hirohito, according to the Asahi.
The Imperial Household Agency also wanted the transition to take place in spring 2019 as many ritual events are scheduled for the imperial family in autumn and winter, the report said.

Akihito, the first Japanese emperor who was never considered divine, has worked for decades at home and abroad to soothe the wounds of the second world war which was fought in his father Hirohito’s name.
In written remarks on her 83rd birthday on Friday, Empress Michiko said she thought this year her travels with Emperor Ahikito around Japan might be their last and have become deeply emotional.
The empress also said she felt “an immeasurable sense of peace” that Akihito will be able to rest and spend quiet days after years of pursuing how the emperor should be.


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Japan

Japan’s emperor likely to abdicate in March 2019, paper says

Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko pose for a photo at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

This handout photograph taken on October 4, 2017 and released on October 20 by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan shows Japan's Empress Michiko (R) posing with Emperor Akihito for a photo at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Empress Michiko celebrated her 83rd birthday on October 20, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Imperial Household Agency / Handout / ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD AGENCY" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

FILE PHOTO: Japan's Emperor Akihito smiles at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo February 23, 2011. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

In this Oct. 4, 2017 photo released by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Japan's Empress Michiko poses with Emperor Akihito for a photo at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Michiko celebrated her 83rd birthday on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017. (The Imperial Household Agency of Japan via AP)

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