Japan to Promulgate Emperor Abdication Law on Friday

Tokyo, June 13 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government decided at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that special legislation allowing Emperor Akihito to step down will be promulgated on Friday. The special law, enacted last Friday, stipulates that the abdication of the Emperor, now 83, should be carried out on the day of its enforcement, which will be determined by a government ordinance to be issued within three years of the law's promulgation. This means that the Imperial abdication, which will be the first in about 200 years, and Crown Prince Naruhito's accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne that will follow immediately, will take place by June 2020. The government is now planning to start full-fledged preparations for issues related to the Imperial succession, including forming an organization to assist the retired Emperor and changing the era name from the current "Heisei." "We'll do our best to realize a smooth abdication without delay," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference after the cabinet meeting. The government is considering scheduling Emperor Akihito's abdication in late December 2018 and changing the era name on Jan. 1, 2019. The one-off abdication legislation was drawn up after Emperor Akihito, in a rare video message broadcast in August last year, suggested a wish to step down due to his advancing age. END