Thursday, 07/12/2017 08:54 (GMT+7)
On December 5th, Mr. Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary, formally reported to the Cabinet that Japan’s Emperor Akihito will abdicate in April 2019 at the age of 85.
Japan’s Emperor Akihito (Photo: Telegraph)
The decision was made at a meeting of the Imperial House Council, which was chaired by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and included parliamentary leaders, supreme court judges and imperial family members.
Emperor Akihito’s elder son Crown Prince Naruhito, 57 will be the country’s 126th Emperor a day later, on May 1st, 2019, beginning a new era.
The 83-year-old emperor had said last year that his age and health would make it difficult to fulfil his duties.
Akihito, who was born in December 1933, had been suffering health problems in recent years, including heart surgery and treatment for cancer, which he addressed in his 2016 speech.
Japanese Emperor Akihito ascended to the throne after the death in 1989 of his father Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa.
The last time a Japanese emperor abdicated was in 1817./.
Compiled by BTA