Japan awaits emperor's video message on possible abdication

No surprise the IHA stopped it from being the live broadcast it was supposed to be -- they have the old guy in chains as tight as they can make them, and they're not letting the prisoner get in a peep edgewise.

Let him take a rest and pass on his duties to his son, I literally see nothing that could possibly serve as a legitimate objection here

A few in-thrall and carefully-managed news items and an official schedule tell us little, especially, as I say, if it is out of context, and not, say, compared to other royals. Of course I don't expect him to bike around. But if he just has to get out of a car and wave its not like he is planting trees every few hours. There are two different contexts here, Educator60. In one context - the current system - with no real provision for retirement, no mercy for overwork, at the mercy of a bureaucracy (all making him a true symbol) he has to go on. His father went on. Perhaps the people might then see the other context; that it is all a human rights violation anyway. I truly feel sorry for the guy. Like many of his ancestors he is a tool of power. If he really is working hard it is Kunaicho that makes his schedule. I don't really want them to escape their responsibility with some fudge.

Third Arrow: Structural Reforms. Abe is now the Emperor.

Or this could be an opportunity for him. He can be the Absolute Monarch of Japan, and order them not to rewrite the constitution. His word is law. He can put Abe in jail too, while he's at it.

This is, I presume (hope), sarcasm.

I pay attention to the news but I don't see his daily duties detailed; just when he goes somewhere like Tohoku or Kumamoto.

Two of the commercial television channels run a weekly roundup of the activities of the Emperor and the other public royals. One is on Fuji Television at 0545 Sunday morning. The other is Nippon Television at 0600 Sunday morning. There may be others.

If you want more detail, you can go to the IHA website. Here for example is the public record of the daily activities of the Emperor and other royals for the second quarter of this year.

http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/page/gonittei/show/1?quarter=201602

Naruhito, who is seen not quite ready for succession

If Akihito died today would "they" still say that Naruhito is "not quite ready for succession"? Or are "they" only saying this because they don't want Akihito to abdicate at all?

Whatever he intends to say seems acceptable for most Japanese people. If he wants retirement, then it's given.

Hehe, it's amusing to see how even in this, some can see conspiracy and skulduggery. Gee, I'm retiring this year in my 60s. Surely the old chap can look forward to a change of pace in his 80s. I have to say that, as a non-Japanese, I am an admirer of the maintenance of the imperial traditions in Japan, and I think we have no idea how busy it is for monarchs like him, not to mention restrictive on his personal life. Well, we'll find out more this afternoon perhaps, but I certain;y wish him and his wife well for the future.

He will most likely avoid the explicit expression of abdication, which would involve political and legal procedures that he is not allowed to discuss.

It seems that he is not even allowed to retroactively 'confirm' the NHK report.

CNN released a segment on Emperor Akihito and the possibility of his abdication, by correspondent Will Ripley. It is well worth watching.

In the segment, Jeffrey Kingston of Temple University said, "Akihito carved out a very different role than his father...he has done more than all of Japan's political leaders combined to promote reconciliation with the former victims of Japanese imperial aggression." So true.

Here is the Will Ripley segment (2:27): http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/07/asia/japan-emperor-akihito/

Crown Prince Naruhito is not quite ready for succession? How much time did Emperor Akihito have before the passing of his father?

I'd like to see his schedule before deciding if he works too hard.

An octogenarian shouldn't need to be working at all.

confining one family to having virtually no freedoms - to speak, to vote, to decide when to retire, to marry who you like, and others too - is a human rights violation of the highest order.

Yes.

So, you think this 90% looked at his schedule, Educator60? I pay attention to the news but I don't see his daily duties detailed; just when he goes somewhere like Tohoku or Kumamoto. And still we have no idea how hard he actually works. Is he just driven or flown somewhere to perform a scripted task? And how about compared to other royals, say, the British queen, who is 90, I believe? I say, give him a break from the whole thing from a sheer human rights perspective but I don't want to be palmed off with the-guy-works-too-hard excuse for something that looks suspicious, especially when there are others to carry out some of the tasks anyway.

Maybe he's just tired and feeling his age.

When this was first being talked about, it was going to be a live address. The IHA put an end to that idea. I expect nothing surprising or even very interesting from this.

I'd like to see his schedule before deciding if he works too hard. How can 90% in a random poll decide he does without that vital information. And how much does he work compared to other royalty? And what is his reimbursement for these duties. It's all so opaque. But, as it is, confining one family to having virtually no freedoms - to speak, to vote, to decide when to retire, to marry who you like, and others too - is a human rights violation of the highest order.

Experts and media have speculated that Akihito will seek to abdicate while he is still in good health so he can monitor Naruhito, who is seen not quite ready for succession.

Naruhito has been watching his dad for 27 years plus was brought up in the IHA system, what more does he need to learn to be able to assume the duties. With that much training, he should be able to do the job with ease. There is something more to this than being let out.

Some speculate that Akihito’s abdication may be an attempt to put a break on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to rewrite the constitution. Abe and his ultra-conservative supporters want to scrap a part of the war-renouncing article and upgrade the emperor to the sovereign again.

Or this could be an opportunity for him. He can be the Absolute Monarch of Japan, and order them not to rewrite the constitution. His word is law. He can put Abe in jail too, while he's at it.