Akihito gives final New Year greetings
Print Edition
Japanese Emperor Akihito waved yesterday to throngs of well-wishers eager to see his final New Year鈥檚 appearance before abdicating in several months.
鈥淚 am truly happy to celebrate the New Year with all of you under such cloudless skies,鈥 the 85-year-old emperor told the crowd from a balcony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
Akihito has made annual New Year鈥檚 appearances with his wife, Empress Michiko, and other family members to wish peace for the nation.
Japanese media reported that more than 150,000 people attended yesterday, a record under Akihito鈥檚 reign. Many waited from early in the morning and waved Japanese flags when Akihito appeared.
Akihito succeeded his father, wartime Emperor Hirohito, in 1989, and will abdicate on April 30, with his elder son, Naruhito, 58, ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Japan鈥檚 imperial family is far more cloistered than its Western counterparts, and Hirohito was once viewed as a god. Akihito strove to become a more accessible emperor. He was the first in modern history to marry a commoner, courting Michiko on the tennis courts. Both of his sons have married commoners.
His abdication is also a rarity. He announced his desire to step down in a video message, citing a worry about how well he could perform his duties as his health declined.
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