Japanese Emperor Akihito to step down after 30 years of reign

(Patria) – Emperor Akihito will be the first Japanese monarch in the last two centuries of this country to abdicate, agencies report.

Akihito (85) expressed his intention to step down from the throne back in 2016 due to old age hindering him in performing his duties.

The Emperor will access the ceremony of stepping down from the throne in the Matsu no Ma Imperial Palace in the evening hours on Tuesday, which will be broadcast live by world media.

Before that, Akihito will address his ancestors and the Shinto deity in the imperial palace in Tokyo in a traditional ceremony at sacred sites.

By symbolically returning the 'three sacred treasures' – the sword, the mirror, and the jewel – which will be solemnly brought into the room by imperial chamberlains, Akihito will end his reign.

The ceremony will be attended by Empress Michiko, Prince Naruhito who will take over the crown from his father, his wife Princess Masako, as well as 300 other guests, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, leaders of parliament and higher judicial bodies.

Akihito's thirty-year reign, named Heisei (achieving peace), will officially end at midnight on Tuesday.

His eldest son, Prince Naruhito, will ascend the throne on Wednesday morning after a similar short ceremony, which traditionally women do not attend.

His reign will be marked as Reiwa – beautiful harmony.

Naruhito (59), a former career diplomat educated at Harvard and Oxford, will greet the public for the first time as the new emperor on Saturday.

Departure of a Great Figure

When Emperor Akihito ascended the throne in 1989, he vowed to protect Japan's post-war constitution, even though it stripped his father Emperor Hirohito, as well as all future heirs to the throne – of much of their power and splendor, making them mere symbolic figures.

Akihito, in fact, redefined the role of emperor and used his power to mend relations with the victims of Japanese aggression in World War II, including China, which he visited in 1992, writes the British newspaper The Guardian.

Similar were the other images and messages Akihito sent to the world during his reign; visits to victims of natural disasters together with his wife Michiko, visits to marginalized groups, victims of leprosy.

Akihito, the soon-to-be former Emperor Heisei, has earned a special place in the hearts of ordinary people by offering encouragement and a helping hand in difficult times, writes The Guardian.