Japan to Hold Key Meeting on Dec. 1 to Set Abdication Date

Tokyo, Nov. 21 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government will hold a meeting of the Imperial House Council on Dec. 1 to set the date for Emperor Akihito's planned abdication, government sources said Tuesday. At the meeting, participants are expected to examine two options for the abdication date--March 31, 2019, and April 30 that year, the sources said. The 10-member council includes the heads of the legislative, executive and judicial branch of the government and two Imperial Family members. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Imperial Palace Tuesday evening to inform the Emperor of matters of state. Although what Abe told the Emperor has not been disclosed, the prime minister is believed to have explained the plan to hold the Imperial House Council meeting. In an unusual video message broadcast in August 2016, the Emperor suggested his wish to abdicate. In June this year, the Diet, Japan's parliament, enacted special legislation that will allow Emperor Akihito to step down on the day when the law enters into force. Based on discussions at the council, Abe is expected to decide the date for enforcing the special law, the sources said. The end-March option was devised mainly because the government closes its fiscal year at the end of the month. If this option is taken, Crown Prince Naruhito will rise to the throne and a new Japanese era will start on April 1, 2019. The other option sets the abdication date at the end of April that year and the beginning of a new era on the following day, a schedule that apparently takes into account unified local elections slated for April that year. The government plans to announce the new era name in advance. The government seems to have given up the idea of setting the abdication date at the end of December 2018 and the start of a new era on Jan. 1, 2019, because the Imperial Family is very busy after a turn of the year, the sources said. The government is considering setting up a committee by the end of this year that will be headed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga to make preparations for the Emperor's abdication and the Crown Prince's accession to the throne. END