Report: Japan's Emperor Akihito, 82, considering retiring

Associated Press ^ | Jul 13, 2016 7:01 AM EDT

[Olog-hai]

Japan’s Emperor Akihito has expressed his intention to retire and relinquish his title in the next few years, the country’s public television said Wednesday.

NHK said the 82-year-old Akihito did not wish to remain emperor if he had to reduce his official duties. […]

It was not known if he had a timeline to relinquish his title to Crown Prince Naruhito. …

[Dr. Sivana]

Japan’s Emperor Akihito has expressed his intention to retire and relinquish his title in the next few years

I think he will be relinquishing his title "in the next few years" whether he intends to or not.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

But....I thought the Emperor of Japan was a god. How can a god retire?

[a fool in paradise]

will the boy king Barack Hussein Obama ever relinquish his crown?

[Dr. Sivana]

will the boy king Barack Hussein Obama ever relinquish his crown?

He won't relinquish it, but it still won't be his option, thank God. (I don't buy into the martial law scenarios, the bad guys have ben patient, and they've made a lot of headway in the last eight years. This is more likely a consolidation phase for them, to bake in most of the bad stuff.)

[Leaning Right]

He won't relinquish it, but it still won't be his option...

I suspect the Obama will just be trading one crown for another. Unlike W, Obama will not go quietly into retirement. He'll probably end up as head of the UN, or on Hillary's Supreme Court, or something like that.

[mindburglar]

The first runner up will be assuming his duties, like car shows and flower festivals.

[chajin]

There is a long-held tradition in Japan of emperors abdicating and then becoming joukou, or the power behind the throne, but no emperor has done it, at least since the opening of Japan back in 1855.

I don’t think it’s Akihito’s intention to become the power behind the throne, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Crown Prince is more involved in political affairs than the present emperor. Shinzo Abe won’t be PM forever, and there isn’t anyone of similar stature to hold Japan together on the horizon. My impression is that Naruhito is to the Japanese an older version of what Prince William has become to the Brits.

[RayChuang88]

Given Akihito’s age and the fact he saw his father fall into declining health during the 1980’s before Hirohito’s passing in 1989, I wouldn’t be surprised that the Crown Prince will become Emperor within the next few years.

[bert]

the man is 82 i think

there is no certainty of the next few years.

[Phlap]

Retire? What is up with that? Emperor, Queen, Pope, these aren’t jobs you should retire from. But lately it seems to be a trend.

[Paulie]

Good question.

I think he’ll already have set up a cushy, UN job until the rules can be changed to make him Secretary-General (currently nobody of Security Council status country can hold the top job, as I understand it).

Then...King of the World!!

[Red Badger]

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”............Shakespeare, in Henry IV, Part 2, Act 3, scene 1, lines 26–31

[ArtDodger]

I saw his old man, Hirohito, waving to the crowds from his balcony in ‘87. Am sure he would have liked to retire but back then, that wasn’t considered an option.

[SoFloFreeper]

What, is he giving up a 40-hour work year? ;-)