‘Japan emperor to abdicate in March 2019’
Rohingya refugees at the no man’s land area between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Palongkhali area next to Ukhia on Thursday. Since late August, more than 500,000 Rohingya have fled an army campaign in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
NURSHIDA, Rohingya teenager TOKYO: Japan’s Emperor Akihito will step down on March 31, 2019, a report said yesterday, the first imperial retirement in more than two centuries.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet top officials and members of the royal household next month before announcing the date, the Asahi Shimbun reported, citing unnamed government sources.
Akihito’s eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 57, will ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne the next day on April 1, the paper said.
Akihito, 83, shocked the country last year when he signalled his desire to take a back seat after nearly three decades, citing his age and health problems.
There have been abdications in Japan’s long imperial history, but the last one was more than 200 years ago.
Akihito’s unexpected move presented a challenge since there was no law to deal with an emperor retiring from what is usually a job for life, and it reignited debate about allowing women to ascend the traditionally male-only throne.
In June, the Parliament passed a one-off rule allowing the ageing emperor to step down, but the Asahi report is the first time a precise date for the abdication has been mooted.
“It is an immeasurable relief to me that His Majesty... can now have days of rest as he reaches an advanced age,” Empress Michiko, who turned 83 yesterday, said in a statement. AFP