Japan’s Emperor Akihito, who is stepping down on Tuesday, will be the first Japanese monarch to retire in over 200 years
Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attend the awards ceremony of the Midori Academic Prize in Tokyo on April 26, 2019.
Akihito’s eldest son, 59-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito, will take the throne the following day in a series of solemn ceremonies, receiving the imperial regalia — an ancient mirror, sword and jewel — considered crucial evidence of an emperor’s legitimacy. There have been abdications in Japan’s long imperial history, which has mythological origins and stretches back more than two millennia, but the last one was more than 200 years ago.'Succession crisis'
His father was allowed to remain on the throne after Japan’s defeat and US occupation, but his status was downgraded from semi-divine sovereign to a figurehead with no political power. The emperor is barred from commenting on politics, but Akihito has over the years hinted at his own anti-nationalist views.
Female royals lose their royal status upon marriage to a commoner, a rule that would apply to Naruhito’s only child, Princess Aiko, now age 17.Incoming emperor Naruhito faces the delicate task of balancing tradition within the monarchy and his own modern values, including protecting his family from the palace’s rigid rules.
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