Japan's parliament clears way for Emperor Akihito's abdication

Japan's parliament passed a law Friday allowing Emperor Akihito to become the first monarch to abdicate in 200 years.

Akihito, 82, said in a rare television address last August that his time to go was approaching because of declining health and old age, USA Today.

Under the new law, an abdication must take place within three years, according to the Associated Press. Akihito’s retirement raises delicate questions about the ban on female succession, conservative efforts to rewrite Japan’s war-renouncing constitution and the imperial family’s place in society.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ultra-conservative government supports male-only succession, which will make the Crown Prince Naruhito, 57, next in line to ascend the throne.

Under Japan’s post-World War II constitution, the emperor is designated as “the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people” but has no governmental powers and is not permitted to engage in political activity.

Humble and soft-spoken, Akihito has received praise for efforts to heal the wounds of Japan’s wartime and colonial era. He appears to have taken pains to keep his distance from emperor-worshiping conservatives and historical revisionists who have contributed to difficult relations with neighboring China and South Korea, which suffered under Japan’s wartime and colonial policies.

Akihito and the empress are venerated by many Japanese, and the imperial family remains a popular institution among all age groups. The emperor’s birthday — Dec. 23 — is a national holiday, when tens of thousands of well-wishers gather outside the Imperial Palace to greet the royal couple.

The imperial family traces an unbroken male line back at least 1,500 years.

The government briefly discussed revising the law in 2005 to permit women to succeed to the throne, over concern about the lack of a male heir to Naruhito, Akihito’s oldest son and presumed heir. Female succession was strongly opposed by conservatives, and the plan was dropped after the wife of Naruhito’s younger brother, Fumihito, gave birth to a son.