For 28 years, Emperor Akihito has been a steady and reassuring presence in Japan, a fact that many people here are reminded of on a daily basis. After all, 2016 is officially known as “Heisei 28,” marking Akihito’s time on the Chrysanthemum Throne.
But now, the 82-year-old “emperor for life” is laying the groundwork to relinquish his role and pass it on to his oldest son, Naruhito. That will be tricky. Not only is there no legal provision for him to abdicate, but even raising the prospect of it could be unconstitutional.
“Under the current law, he can’t abdicate, even if he wants to. There is no option but to carry on,” said Yasushi Kuno, a veteran journalist who covered the imperial family for the Nippon television network for years.
Akihito is scheduled to make a prerecorded video statement to the Japanese people Monday afternoon, during which he probably will say that he is having difficulty carrying out his official duties.
He has had health issues — prostate cancer and heart problems — and, marking his birthday in December, he said there had been times when he had felt his age.
“Even if he tries really hard, he can’t deny that his body is deteriorating,” Kuno said, and this means the emperor-for-life can no longer carry out all his official duties.
Surviving through samurais and shoguns and wars, an unbroken male line of emperors has endured in Japan for almost 3,000 years. They are said to be direct descendants of Amaterasu, the Shinto goddess of the sun.
Abdication was relatively common until 1817, when Kokaku became the last emperor to resign his post.
But the imperial system underwent a huge upheaval at the end of World War II, when the U.S. occupying forces allowed Hirohito, the current emperor’s father, to remain in his position but stripped him of his powers.
The emperor was reduced to being a ceremonial figurehead who would serve as a “symbol of the state and of the unity of the people,” according to the U.S.-written constitution. As such, he does “not have powers related to government,” meaning that he cannot say anything even remotely political.
That will cause some issues for Akihito, the only emperor to have begun his reign under the postwar constitution. Because there is no provision in the Imperial House Law for him to abdicate, even raising the idea would be considered political because it would require a parliamentary amendment.
“So he will be ambiguous, unclear,” said Takeshi Hara, a professor of politics who has written several books on the imperial system. “I think he will just express his feelings.”
Signs of the emperor’s wish to step down emerged last month when NHK, the public broadcaster, which has close ties to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, reported that it was under discussion.
The public has been supportive of the idea, with polls showing between 77 and 90 percent of respondents saying the government should create a system to allow the emperor to abdicate.
“If he feels old and tired, it’s okay for him to retire,” said Yukiko Sakurai, one of a group of four gray-haired women sitting in a Tokyo cafe last week.
Hirohito died at age 87; Akihito was 55 when he succeeded his father. His oldest son, Naruhito, is 56.
The Japanese public has warm feelings toward the current emperor. His father was so revered that Japanese people weren’t even allowed to look straight at him during the war.
“But the current emperor has a different style and talks directly to the people,” said Kuno, the journalist. This was particularly evident after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, when Akihito recorded a video message to the Japanese people — his first — and then visited the disaster zone.
