Japan’s aging emperor signals readiness to step down

TOKYO (AA) – Japan’s 82-year-old Emperor Akihito has signaled his readiness to step down from the throne, weeks after reports of his possible abdication threw the country into consternation.

"When I consider that my fitness level is gradually declining, I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the state with my whole being as I have done until now," he said in a video message to the public Monday.

Kyodo news agency also quoted the emperor as saying the message conveyed his thoughts as an "individual" and did not mean to comment on the current imperial system due to his position.

An abdication, however, may be difficult under the current Imperial Household law, which only envisions the monarch’s death and his succession by his eldest male child.

Although it was commonplace during medieval times, no modern Japanese monarch has abdicated -- the last to do so being Emperor Kokaku around 200 years ago.

According to Kyodo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has undertaken “behind the scenes” efforts to determine the feasibility of a possible abdication of Emperor Akihito and his handing the throne to his eldest son, 56-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito.

At age 82, the emperor suffers from a number of ailments including bouts with prostrate cancer and heart trouble.

The Imperial Household Agency has tried to limit his duties, but there are some, including religious rites, he can’t easily delegate.

The duties of the current emperor include opening parliament, receiving foreign ambassadors and being the nation’s griever in disasters like the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan.

On the other hand, he has virtually no political influence, not even to advise or caution the prime minister as in Britain and there is no pretense that he appoints the premier or that the ministers act on behalf of “his government”.