Japanese imperial abdication and transition
The 2019 Japanese imperial transition occurred on 30 April 2019 when the then 85-year-old Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicated from the Chrysanthemum Throne after reigning for 30 years, becoming the first Emperor of Japan to do so since Emperor Kōkaku in 1817. This marked the end of the Heisei era and the inception of the Reiwa era, and saw numerous festivities leading up to the accession of his eldest son and successor, Emperor Naruhito. The Enthronement Ceremony took place on 22 October 2019. Akihito's younger son, Prince Akishino, is his brother's heir presumptive. The ceremony cost 16.6 billion Yen.
Background.
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The practice in the Imperial Family has been that the death of the Emperor called for events of heavy mourning, continuing every day for two months, followed by funeral events which continue for one year. These various events occur simultaneously with events related to the new era, placing a very heavy strain on those involved in the events, in particular, the family left behind. It occurs to me from time to time to wonder whether it is possible to prevent such a situation.
Emperor Akihito, 2016
In 2010, Emperor Akihito informed his advisory council that he would eventually like to retire from his position. However, no action was taken by senior members of the Imperial Household Agency.
On 13 July 2016, national broadcaster NHK reported that the Emperor wished to abdicate in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, within a few years.
Senior officials within the Imperial Household Agency denied that there was any official plan for the monarch to abdicate. A potential abdication by the Emperor would require an amendment to the Imperial Household Law, which has no provisions for such a move.
On 8 August 2016, the Emperor gave a rare televised address, where he emphasized his advanced age and declining health; this address was interpreted as an implication of his intention to abdicate.
Legislation.
With the intention of the abdication now known, the Cabinet Office appointed Yasuhiko Nishimura as the Imperial Household Agency's Vice Grand Steward. In October 2016, the Cabinet Office appointed a panel of experts to debate the Emperor's abdication.
In January 2017, the Lower House Budget committee began informally debating the constitutional nature of the abdication.
On 19 May 2017, the bill that would allow Akihito to abdicate was issued by the Cabinet of Japan. On 8 June 2017, the National Diet passed it into law, permitting the government to begin arranging the process of handing over the position to Crown Prince Naruhito. This meant the Imperial Household Law was changed for the first time since 1949. The date of the abdication was set for 30 April 2019.
Imperial Household Council.
On 1 December 2017, the Imperial Household Council, which had not met in 24 years, did so in order to schedule the ceremonies involved in the first such transfer of power in two centuries.
The Imperial Household Council consists of the prime minister, the speaker and vice-speaker of the House of Representatives, the president and vice-president of the House of Councillors, the grand steward of the Imperial Household Agency, the chief justice and one justice of the Supreme Court, and two members of the Imperial family. Fumihito, Prince Akishino, the Emperor's younger son, asked to recuse himself as he would become the next Crown Prince. He was replaced by Masahito, Prince Hitachi, the Emperor's 82-year-old younger brother. The other member of the imperial family was Hitachi's wife, Hanako, Princess Hitachi.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the date was chosen to permit the old Emperor to be able to preside over the 30th anniversary Jubilee and to coincide with the Golden Week annual holiday period, turning the changeover from a period of mourning and makeshift ceremonial into a joyous, well-planned festival.
Finally, on 8 December 2017, the government created a special committee to oversee the events. According to Suga, it would "deal with the matter properly, taking into consideration the possible impact on the people's lives."
Preparations for the imperial transition (2017–2019).
The committee met for the first time in January 2018, and the following month announced that a plan called a "basic policy statement," would be released on 3 April. Official farewell celebrations began with a 30th Jubilee ceremony on 12 February 2019, a delay which would avoid any implication of a celebration of the death of the Emperor Shōwa on 7 January.
Calendars.
Since the Meiji Restoration in 1867, a new Japanese era starts the day after the death of the previous emperor. However, in Emperor Akihito's case, manufacturers of calendars, forms, and other paper products needed to know the new era's name in advance to produce wares in a timely manner.
While the era names for the Shōwa and Heisei eras were kept state secrets until the deaths of the previous emperors, that was not possible in this case, because an abdication had been unprecedented since the 1889 Meiji Constitution was adopted. In order to prevent divisive debate on the subject, delaying the announcement as late as was practically possible – either the old Emperor's birthday or his jubilee celebrations – had been suggested.
Until the era name became known, computers and software manufacturers needed to test their systems before the transition in order to ensure that the new era would be handled correctly by their software. Some systems provided test mechanisms to simulate a new era ahead of time.
The new era name, , was revealed on 1 April 2019 by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga during a televised press conference.
Imperial transition.
On 30 April 2019, the Emperor announced his formal abdication during a ceremony at the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Akihito formally ceased to be emperor at midnight JST on 1 May, which heralded the beginning of the Reiwa era. He received the title of , an abbreviation of , upon abdicating, and his wife, the Empress, became . The formal accession ceremony of Emperor Naruhito took place the following morning.
Golden Week, 2019.
The government consolidated the Golden Week into a special ten-day holiday block lasting from 27 April to 6 May. Even without the imperial transition, 29 April and 3–6 May were scheduled as national holidays in 2019, following the weekend of 27–28 April. To mark the imperial transition, the government determined that the abdication and enthronement would both be national holidays. Japanese law states that a regular work day sandwiched between two national holidays becomes a public holiday.
Enthronement Ceremony.
The enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito took place at the Tokyo Imperial Palace on 22 October 2019, marking the end of the transition period. It was an extra holiday. It was attended by roughly 2,000 dignitaries, including heads of state and government and representatives of around 174 countries. 
The ceremony began at 9 am JST (02:00 UTC) with the private ritual when the Emperor, dressed in white traditional court wear, visited the Kashiko-dokoro, the main sanctuary in the Tokyo Imperial Palace where the Sun Goddess is said to be enshrined.
At 1 pm JST (06:00 UTC), the main portion of the ceremony began. Emperor Naruhito wore the sokutai and Empress Masako wore the jūnihitoe. They took their places on the 6.5-metre (21-foot) Takamikura throne at the Matsu-no-Ma (Pine Hall), and the Emperor gave a speech which emphasized his role as the symbol of the State. The speech then followed by a congratulatory speech by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and three cheers of banzai. A state banquet hosted by the new Emperor was organized later in the day.
Post-enthronement parade.
A parade to celebrate Naruhito's enthronement as Emperor took place on 10 November at 3 pm local time (06:00 UTC) as tens of thousands of people gathered in the city centre of Tokyo waving the Japanese flag. The Emperor and Empress used a Toyota Century convertible, which was followed by vehicles with Crown Prince Fumihito and his wife Crown Princess Kiko as well as Shinzō Abe.
The procession forming a 400-metre motorcade was started from Tokyo Imperial Palace, passed the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the main gate of the Diet building before arriving at the couple's residence in the Akasaka Imperial Grounds on the 4.6-kilometre-long (3-mile-long) route.
Timeline.
2010.
Emperor Akihito informs his advisory council that he would like to abdicate eventually and asks for their help in arranging this.
Ceremonies.
The following table lists abdication and enthronement ceremonies in chronological order. Private ceremonies are listed as "Private". State acts are listed as "Public".
References.
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