After 30 years on the Chrysanthemum Throne, Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicated on April 30, 2019, being the first Japanese emperor to do so since 1817.
The 85-year-old had surgery for prostate cancer in 2003 and a heart bypass operation in 2012.
In a rare speech in 2016, he said that he feared his age would make it hard for him to carry out his duties and strongly hinted that he wanted to stand down.
Opinion polls showed that the vast majority of Japan sympathised with him, and a year later parliament enacted a law that made his abdication possible.
Reiwa, a new Imperial era, was announced on April 1, to mark the reign of the new Emperor Naruhito, who ascended the throne on May 1, 2019.
The 59-year-old Oxford University graduate is married to Crown Princess Masako. Their only child, Princess Aiko, was born in 2001.
Japan’s current law prohibits women from inheriting the throne, so Princess Aiko’s uncle Prince Fumihito is now first in line, followed by her cousin, 12-year-old Prince Hisahito.
Picture Credit : Google
