TOKYO (Sputnik) – A bill that could facilitate the abdication of Emperor Akihito and putting his heir, crown prince Naruhito, on the throne will be submitted to the Japanese parliament at the next session, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday.
“The conclusion of the expert group, that held its first meeting Monday, will be submitted to the parliament in the beginning of the next year. Then, a bill, which will be submitted to the parliament for consideration at the next session in the first half of the new year, will be drafted based on this and other data,” Suga said as quoted by the NHK broadcaster.
The 82-year-old emperor hinted at his readiness to renounce the throne in a rare video message to the public in August, expressing his concern to become unable to fulfill official duties due to his age. Abdication is not stipulated by the Imperial Household Act of 1947, under which the throne passes on only after the death of an emperor.
Akihito ascended to the Japanese throne in 1989 after Emperor Hirohito's death. According to the Japanese Constitution, emperor has a merely ceremonial role, being a symbol of the nation and of national unity. Akihito has two sons — Crown Prince Naruhito and Akishino — who are the first and second in line to become Japan's emperor under male-only succession system.
