Crown Price Naruhito is Ready to Rule
If you’ve been following the Royals in Japan you might know that the current Emperor, Akihito has asked to abdicate. In news this month his son Crown Prince Naruhito seeks to assure the Imperial Household and the government that he is read to rule in his father’s place.
On his recent 57th birthday, Crown Prince Naruhito sent the message to skeptics and naysayers that he is ready to become emperor after his father Akihito, who could abdicate as early as next year.
In a legal controversy, a government panel has been formed and is debating how to allow the 83-year-old current Emperor Akihito, who has had heart surgery and prostate cancer, to step down. Akihito made it known last August that he fears age and illness are making it hard for him to meet royal obligations.
The Japanese law does not normally allow for abdication the last time an emperor abdicated was in 1817. In January news leaked that members of the diet were considering steps that would allow Akihito to abdicate and for Naruhito to ascend the throne as soon as Jan 1st, 2019.
Naruhito told reporters he was “profoundly moved” when his father came forward and told the people that he is ready to step down.
In a show of national and familial devotion Naruhito told reporters that he “Accepts the emperor’s thinking with sincerity and will bear it in mind all the time as I carry out my duties.”
Imperial household controversy is not new, and the tension between household managers and the Imperial family can sometimes be quite serious. The people of Japan, when polled, have said they support the Emperor’s desire to step down and turn over his duties to his son.
