April 2019 abdication plan for Emperor reported to Cabinet

December 5, 2017

Tokyo- -An Imperial House Council agreement to set Japanese Emperor Akihito's abdication for April 30, 2019, was reported to a cabinet meeting on Tuesday by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

Suga also informed the cabinet of an agreement reached at a meeting of the council last Friday that Crown Prince Naruhito will accede to the throne on May 1 that year.

Following the report, the government is set to adopt at a cabinet meeting on Friday an ordinance to formalize the abdication and accession dates.

The Imperial abdication will be the first since Emperor Kokaku relinquished his title in 1817.

The government is expected to announce the name of Japan's new era in 2018. The new era will start on May 1, along with the Crown Prince's enthronement.

"We will draw up a draft ordinance to fix the enforcement date" of the special abdication law in line with the opinions shared at the council, Suga said at the cabinet meeting. Emperor Akihito, 83, will step down on the date when the law comes into force.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe or any other members of his cabinet did not make remarks on the issue at the meeting.

Suga told a news conference later that the government will "make all-out efforts to carry out the Imperial abdication and accession flawlessly."

"We plan to make preparations steadily one by one" after the planned adoption of the ordinance at the cabinet meeting on Friday, Suga, the top government spokesman, also said, indicating the government's readiness to initiate full-fledged work on related ceremonies.

Last Friday, the government convened a meeting of the Imperial House Council, which was attended by the heads of the three branches of the government, some Imperial Family members and others.

The participants supported the proposal of Abe, who chaired the council meeting, to allow the Emperor to abdicate on April 30, 2019.

Regarding the abdication date, the government previously looked at the end of 2018 and March 31, 2019, the last day of fiscal 2018. But these options were dropped due to the concentration of Imperial Family events around the turn of the year and unified local elections planned for April 2019. Jiji Press