Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Pope Benedict XVI did it. Dutch Queen Beatrix did it. So why is it so hard for Japan's elderly emperor to abdicate?
Public broadcaster NHK reported last month that Emperor Akihito, 82, wanted to abdicate "in a few years", something unprecedented in modern Japan.
Ordinary Japanese sympathise with his apparent desire to hand over to Crown Prince Naruhito but the idea faces stiff opposition from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative base.
Conservatives have already raised objections to changing the law to let Akihito step down, citing problems ranging from his title and possible strife with a new emperor, to worry the next step would be letting women succeed and pass on the throne, anathema to traditionalists.
Even more, conservatives fear that a debate over the imperial family's future would divert political energy from Abe's push to revise the postwar, pacifist constitution, which they see as a symbol of defeat, but admirers consider the guarantor of Japan's democracy.
Abe's ruling bloc and allies last month won a two-thirds majority in parliament's upper house, which, with a similar grip on the lower chamber, clears the way to try to change the charter. Revisions also require approval by a majority in a referendum.
"For the first time since the war's end, there is a chance for the Japanese people to revise the constitution that was forced upon them by Occupation forces," said Akira Momochi, a conservative constitutional scholar at Nihon University. "Frankly, I worry we will lose the ability to achieve this."
Once considered divine, the emperor is defined in the constitution as a symbol of the "unity of the people" with no political power.
Akihito became emperor after the death in 1989 of his father, Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought the war. He has sought to soothe the wounds of that conflict and tried to bring the monarchy closer to the public.
Unlike some European monarchies, Japan has no legal provision for abdication, though many emperors abdicated in the pre-modern era.
In what would be an unprecedented move, Akihito may appear live on television on Aug 8 to outline his concern that age and health problems - he has had heart surgery and prostate cancer - mean he can not do his job fully, but avoid using the word "abdicate", media say.
There are no signs Akihito was influenced by Benedict's retirement as pontiff in 2013. But he may have been inspired by Queen Beatrix, who at age 75 announced her abdication on television that same year, the third Dutch queen to step down since the war.
"He wants to have a system where the emperor can hand over to a younger generation that would be closer to the people and reflect the times," one veteran journalist said.
Conservatives argue an existing system allowing the crown prince to take over as regent if the emperor is incapacitated can cover the situation, even though Akihito is far from feeble.
They also worry debate could stir calls for allowing female succession, given a shortage of male heirs. Earlier plans to revise the succession law were shelved after the birth in 2006 of Prince Hisahito to the crown prince's younger brother.
"I don't think he can ignore the views of such conservatives," Keio University professor Hidehiko Kasahara said of Prime Minister Abe.
Still, public opinion in favor of letting him abdicate could sway the debate if the emperor's appeal is emotionally moving, some experts said, noting that while many Japanese find the royals irrelevant, others are fond of Akihito himself.
"Depending on how the TV appeal is done, it could stir up public opinion," said Naotaka Kimizuka, an expert in European monarchies at Kanto Gakuin University. "Or, people could lose interest and things will go as Abe's administration prefers."
© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.
13 Comments
Login to comment
MsDelicious
It appears that the emperor is being held captive by Abe and his friends.
bullfighter
I found this statement particularly bizarre.
"Ordinary Japanese sympathise with his apparent desire to hand over to Crown Prince Naruhito but the idea faces stiff opposition from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative base."
Are "conservatives" something apart from "ordinary" Japanese? If those who vote for the LDP are "Abe's conservative base," they constitute the electoral majority and in that sense are more "ordinary" than people like me who vote for opposition parties and candidates.
Further, I would be very surprised if "conservatives" are all of one mind about this. Since she gives no indication of how she determined what "conservatives" are thinking and does not cite any explicitly "conservative" thinkers for the views she claims "conservatives" hold, there is no way to evaluate the validity of her claim.
In other areas, "conservatives" tend to hold a range of opinions. For example, within the LDP there are both pro and anti-immigration factions. There are both pro and anti TPP factions. I can think of no obvious reason why all would think the same on this issue.
Scrote
Akihito should just announce he is abdicating and refuse to do any more official duties. It's no good expecting the government to do anything: he will be long dead before the "experts" come to any conclusion on the issue.
Triring
Abe nor anyone else is against the Emperor stepping down. The problem is technical in which the present law doesn't have any clause siting the procedures for abdication from the throne and the parliament requires to come up with amendments for it to happen which takes times.
For example what would be the status of Emperor Akihito once he abdicates, will he become a private citizen or will he gain a new title in which case what will the new title be and how much does the government require to support him?
In the past there had been many examples but none of them were based on law so Japan needs to create them from scratch.
It's the pain of giving birth, just give it some time.
Sensato
Slippery slope. Heaven forbid that a woman should succeed the throne.
There is clearly a struggle going on behind the scenes between pacifist Emperor Akihito and PM Abe and other powerful nationalistic members of the Nippon Kaigi, which follows a sect of Shintoism that elevates the emperor to the status of a god. I suspect that in they eyes of the Nippon Kaigi the emperor can't abdicate because once a god, always a god.
Here is a blurb on the Nippon Kaigi regarding its position regarding the emperor and other of its tenets: "Nippon Kaigi, a small cult including a number of the country’s most powerful people, follows a brand of Shintoism dating before and during World War II. The exclusive sect elevates the Emperor to the status of a God. Nippon Kaigi, or Japan Conference, was formed in 1997 and its major tenets are the elimination of Japan’s post-war pacifist constitution, the end of equality between the sexes, the expulsion of foreigners, rejection of human rights laws, and a restoration of Japan’s Imperial Glory realized during and after the Meiji era."
Triring
Sensato
No one worships the emperor as a living God anymore so it really doesn't matter what Nihon Kaigi says or do. No law can change that and would require a referendum to change the constitution to make that law. You fear mongers are working over time.
Sensato
@Triring
I didn't say that the Nippon Kaigi "worships the emperor as a living god" under the sect of Shintoism that its members follow (as was the case during WWII).
Instead, I said, the Nippon Kaigi "elevates the emperor to the status of a god" in that he is revered under that sect of Shintoism as sacred — tenno (天皇), "heavenly sovereign."
Emperor Akihito himself clearly does not want to be regarded as a sacred being.
Triring
Sensato
My advice quit while you are ahead since you haven't a clue the dogma of Kokutai Shinto.
bullfighter
Why quote what someone else has said about the Nippon Kaigi when you can cut and paste from their website?
http://www.nipponkaigi.org/
They even have a YouTube site if you are so inclined although it does not seem to be all that active.
https://www.youtube.com/user/nipponkaigi
As far as I can see, the Nippon Kaigi has not expressed an opinion on the abdication issue.
Triring
Sensato
Ignorance is bliss it seems. Kokutai Shinto worships the Emperor as Arhitogami(現人神） meaning living god(deity) in flesh and is based on that idea as dogma.
When the emperor, the one they worship as god states he wants to step down then the priests are not going to argue with that decision.
Fadamor
What kind of law is required for someone to be able to say, "I resign from my government-appointed position effective immediately."?? Is the Emperor a slave?
I think the only real issue is that Japan has made no provision for a retirement plan for Emperors. If he resigns, where will he and his wife live and where will they get money for food?
philly1
After having a heart condition and prostate cancer it should be easy enough for the Emperor to exhibit all the signs of depression. It's not difficult to say the right things to receive such a diagnosis from almost any psychiatrist. Then he could retire from public life like his daughter-in-law. He could stand on a balcony once a year for a grateful and sympathetic public and issue video statements instead of public appearances and international travel. His appointed representatives could attend instead. (Even Elizabeth II is sending her family members to stand in her place though she has not expressed any wish to abdicate.)
After that the bureaucrats who run everything could continue to do so until his death when the "legal mechanisms" allow for his successor to openly assume his duties. Meanwhile, abdication and succession laws need a second look and need to include (gasp! & shudder!) women as imperial or royal figureheads. I know, I know. It's very, very difficult. But it wasn't that hard to become a superpower within a few decades of WWII. That was a monumental change. Why not something simpler such as a few tweaks on the legal books?
Difficult does not mean impossible. It would probably be very good for Japan to get up to speed sometime very soon, preferably in the 21st century. The honour in venerable tradition goes only so far. At this point in history it is beyond irresponsible not to have such mechanisms in place. With very few exceptions, Kings and Queens and Emperors used to die before they got too old for their duties. Abdication wasn't necessary unless they fell in love with the wrong woman or espoused a contrary religion. However, today we are in a different age
notagain
He should just cite ill health as a way of withdrawing from public life. The Emperor and Empress are old and sick and have served their time, let them live their later years without the Imperial Household Agency controlling their every move.