Cabinet greenlights abdication bill

KYODO

The Cabinet on Friday approved a bill to let Emperor Akihito hand over the
Chrysanthemum Throne to Crown Prince Naruhito in what would be Japans first
abdication in roughly 200 years.

The government is looking at December 2018, when the Emperor turns 85, as the timing
for his abdication, which will likely trigger a change in Japans gengo (era name), which
remains in use throughout an emperors reign, at the start of 2019, sources said.
The bill was specifically designed for Emperor Akihito, 83, to prevent other monarchs
from easily following suit. Securing a stable succession process as the Imperial family
shrinks remains a challenge. This issue was highlighted by news of Princess Makos
impending engagement to a commoner.

Princess Mako, the first grandchild of Emperor Akihito and the elder daughter of Prince
Akishino, is expected to become a commoner after her marriage in accordance with the
Imperial law.

The government is expecting the bill to be passed smoothly, Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference.
The bill states the publics understanding and sympathy for the aging Emperors
deep concern about becoming unable to fulfill his duties eventually as the reason to set
up the special abdication law.

The timing of the Emperors retirement will be set by a government ordinance after the
enactment and promulgation of the special law.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abes government began preparing the legal revision after the
Emperor gave an unusual televised address to the public last August hinting at his desire
to step down because his advanced age and weakening health were interfering with his
duties.

Currently, only posthumous succession is allowed by the Imperial House Law, which
stipulates Imperial matters but lacks a provision for abdication by a reigning emperor.

The government and the Abe administration did not want to create a permanent
abdication system, so they instead drafted a piece of one-off abdication legislation and a
supplementary provision to the Imperial House Law to enable the special law for the
Emperor to serve as a precedent for future emperors.

The bill was submitted to the Diet on Friday and the government expects it to become
law before the Diet closes in mid-June.

In the meantime, the ruling and opposition parties remain divided over how and by
when to address the shrinking of the Imperial family.

The Democratic Party has been trying to get a special resolution attached to the
abdication bill calling for deeper debate on enabling princesses to establish their own
branches within the Imperial family after they marry commoners.

But Abes conservative Liberal Democratic Party has been reluctant to adopt such a
policy because its base knows that allowing princesses to stay in the Imperial family
after marriage could eventually pave the way for a woman to inherit the
Chrysanthemum Throne.

Princess Makos marriage is thus set to reduce the Imperial family to 18 members, with
only four heirs to the throne. Prince Hisahito, 10, Princess Makos younger brother, is
the only male member of his generation.

After Emperor Akihito relinquishes the throne, he will be called joko, an abbreviation
of daijo tenno, a title that was given in the past to emperors who abdicated, according to
the bill.
Empress Michiko will be given the new title of jokogo, which means wife of joko, after
the Emperor retires.
Emperor Akihitos funeral ceremony and tomb will be equivalent in status to those of
past emperors, the bill said, adding that the Emperors Birthday holiday on Dec. 23 will
shift to Feb. 23, the birthday of Crown Prince Naruhito, 57, who will become the new
emperor.
The timing of the abdication will be decided under an ordinance within three years of
the laws promulgation after consulting with the Imperial House Council, whose
members include the prime minister, a Supreme Court justice and the Imperial
Household Agencys grand steward, as well as two members of the Imperial family, the
bill said.

A series of rituals will be held over the span of a year to mark the accession of the new
emperor. The government is also planning to hold Japans first abdication ceremony in
almost two centuries after studying ceremonial practices from the past.

After Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the throne, his younger brother Prince Akishino,
51, will be the next in line. This will cause Prince Akishinos annual budget allocation to
balloon threefold to 91.5 million ($822,000), the bill says.

The special law will allow Emperor Akihito to become the first emperor to abdicate since
Emperor Kokaku, who relinquished the throne in 1817. In the past, abdication used to
be common, with about half of Japans 125 emperors having chosen to do so.