Abe briefs crown prince on internal, external affairs

February 23, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Crown Prince Naruhito on Friday to brief him on internal and external affairs, in a rare move apparently eyeing the Crown Prince's forthcoming accession to the throne.

The meeting took place at the Togu Palace, the residence of the Crown Prince in Tokyo's Motoakasaka district. Crown Prince Naruhito is set to accede to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1, after his father, Emperor Akihito, abdicates on April 30.

At a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to comment on the meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes.

The department of the Imperial Household Agency serving the Crown Prince and his family said there may have been no previous such meeting involving the Crown Prince and a prime minister in the Heisei era, which started in 1989.

A ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of Emperor Akihito's enthronement will be held on Sunday, kicking off a series of events related to the Imperial succession.

Abe apparently decided to hold the meeting with the Crown Prince at this time in light of events involving the new Emperor after the enthronement, including a May 26-28 visit to Japan by U.S. President Donald Trump, sources familiar with the matter said.

A regular meeting in which the prime minister gives a briefing to the Emperor about issues including national politics is called "naiso." The last such meeting took place at the Imperial Palace on Thursday. Jiji Press