Emperor has one year remaining before abdication

April 30, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Emperor Akihito has one year remaining before handing over the throne to Crown Prince Naruhito.

The Emperor is scheduled to give his final speech to the public as a reigning emperor at a "Taiirei Seiden no Gi" abdication ceremony set for April 30, 2019, the final day of the country's Heisei era that began in January 1989 when he took the throne.

Emperor Akihito has expressed his wish to fulfill his duties until he passes them to the new emperor on May 1, 2019, after his abdication the previous day.

Empress Michiko will also withdraw from her duties on April 30 next year.

At a press conference in December last year, Emperor Akihito said, "Over the remaining days, as I continue to carry out my duties as the symbol of the State, I would like to make preparations for passing the torch to the next era, together with the people concerned."

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will attend an annual government-sponsored ceremony in Tokyo on Aug. 15 this year to mark the 73rd anniversary of the country's surrender in World War II.

The Emperor expressed his deep remorse over the war in his address at the annual event over the past three years. What he will say at this year's ceremony, the last one for him as the Emperor, is a matter of attention.

Outside of Tokyo in Japan, the Imperial couple will visit Minamisoma in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima in June to attend a national tree-planting ceremony.

During their stay in the prefecture, the couple plan to visit its coastal areas as they care deeply about the plight of people hit hard by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in March 2011.

The Emperor and Empress have visited more than 50 islands as they attach particular importance to trips to remote areas and islands.

The couple traveled to the Okinawa Prefecture island of Yonaguni, the westernmost part of Japan, in March. Under consideration is a plan for them to visit the Hokkaido island of Rishiri, near the northern tip of the country, in August. Jiji Press