A 30-year reign ends as Akihito becomes the first Japanese emperor in more than two centuries to step down from Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne.
A large-scale screen at Shibuya district displays a news program reporting on Japanese Emperor Akihito on the day of his abdication in Tokyo, April 30.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, representing the Japanese people, expressed “deep gratitude” to the emperor for sharing in the sorrows and happiness of the people. In a barebones ceremony, the emperor, dressed in a tailcoat and silver tie, slowly walked to a dais with two chairs in the middle of a wooden floor accompanied by his wife, Empress Michiko. He stared solemnly ahead as wrapped packages containing imperial regalia were placed before him. Abe, along with the guests, bowed deeply.After he finished reading his remarks from a scroll, Akihito slowly walked out of the room, pausing one final time to turn back and bow.
Okazaki, 69, said he’d come to show his gratitude to an emperor and empress who he said had cared about people.Akihito, 85, said age and increasingly poor health made it difficult for him to carry out his duties as emperor. Japanese lawmakers passed a one-time law to allow for his abdication. His father, Hirohito, had reigned until his death in 1989.
“He totally reinvented the role of the emperor,” Kingston said. “He saw how important it was to make the monarchy relevant to contemporary society. Why do we have this anachronism in modern Japan? That question was on a lot of people’s minds, but also the emperor’s.” “We are all watching to see how the pendulum of patriotism and nationalism is swinging,” Kawamura said.
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