Japan's Emperor Akihito kicks off ceremonies for his abdication, the first in 200 years for the world's oldest monarchy
Japan's Emperor Akihito walks for a ritual called Taiirei-Tojitsu-Kashikodokoro-Omae-no-gi, a ceremony for the Emperor to report the conduct of the abdication ceremony, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan April 30, 2019, in this photo released by Kyodo.
In a palace ceremony later in the day, Akihito will announce his retirement before other members of the royal family and top government officials. "We came because today is the last day of Heisei, and we feel nostalgic," said Akemi Yamauchi, 55, standing outside the palace with her husband. Japanese television talk shows are displaying a countdown to the midnight transition, and programming was dominated by the abdication and looking back to major events of Akihito's era that included the 2011 tsunami, another deadly earthquake in Kobe in 1995 and the Tokyo subway nerve gas attack that shook Japan's sense of safety and confidence.Security was extremely tight around the palace and across downtown Tokyo with thousands of police mobilised.
"You can say that over the past three decades, Akihito has been Japan's chief emissary of reconciliation," said Jeff Kingston, Asian studies director at Temple University, Japan Campus. "In bringing Japan close to the people, he has also acted as consoler in chief ... and he has also been a strong advocate of the vulnerable and the marginalised in the Japanese society."
He is the first emperor in Japan's modern history whose era did not have a war. Though he has avoided outright apologies, he has stepped up his expressions of regret in carefully scripted statements on the war.
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