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Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
Japan has passed legislation paving the way for 83-year-old Emperor Akihito to abdicate. The law sets the stage for the first abdication of a reigning monarch in two centuries, in a royal family which has a history stretching back 2,600 years.
[...] According to the 1947 Imperial House Law that regulates the line of imperial succession, the emperor cannot step down. The last Japanese monarch to abdicate was Emperor Kokaku, who left in favor of his son back in 1817.
Another issue the Japanese government will discuss is the continuity of the heirs, as women are not allowed to inherit the throne. Additionally, a woman from the imperial family who marries outside the family is then excluded. Akihito has another son, Prince Akishino, and a grandson, Hisahito, aged just 10. All the other members of the royal family are female.
Source: RT
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 12 2017, @06:56AM (4 children)
"the US wisely accepted that wish"
I disagree with that. The US unwisely bestowed legitimacy on the next Emperor who dreams of world domination.
(Score: 2) by KiloByte on Monday June 12 2017, @08:00AM (3 children)
Do you mean this [pinimg.com] longing [tomsk.ru] look [intmassmedia.com]?
Ceterum censeo systemd esse delendam.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 12 2017, @08:42AM (2 children)
So, you've got a hardon for Putin? Not really relevant to this discussion. More relevant, is the fact that the US is pushing all of it's allies to take more responsibility for their own defense. Also relevant, is the Japanese controversy over altering their constitution to allow the Japanese forces to take that more active role in their own defense.
Who knows what the geopolitical field might look like in 50 years, or 100, or 250 years?
The fact is, the US legitimized the position of the Emperor, and the royal status of the Emperor's lineage. The concept of royalty is anathema to the US, it's constitution, democracy, and our way of life. Royalty is less incompatible with democracy than Islam is, but it is still incompatible. The UK and a few other countries manage to pull it off, reasonably well, but the concepts aren't really compatible.
The US has never legitimized the royalty of Russia, of which Putin is not a member.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Monday June 12 2017, @01:37PM (1 child)
> The fact is, the US legitimized the position of the Emperor [...]
Perhaps the U.S. legitimised the (monarchic) British Empire by allying with it in that same war?
> The concept of royalty is anathema to the US [...] The UK and a few other countries manage to pull it off, reasonably well [...]
I'm not aware that the U.S., aside from its own revolution. ever embarked upon an anti-monarchic programme. In the last century it seemed content to countenance monarchies in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Monaco, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, Iran and perhaps a few other countries. Apart from Iran and Nepal, all those countries are still monarchies.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Monday June 12 2017, @06:05PM
Agreed. The US anathema for monarchies is strictly a Domestic one, and the US has never shown any animosity to figurehead monarchs in otherwise elected governments.
Which is exactly what the Emperor was, and Is. The white gloves and top hat guy you trot out for ceremony.
Why keep him around? It had nothing to do with a communist horde, or bestowing blessing on a monarchy. (And no, the emperor was not a war criminal. Even at that time, he was a pawn of the military).
It had everything to do with gaining the acquiescence of the Japanese people so that instead of street by street fighting and snipers, there would be quiet acceptance because the Emperor said so.
It was something of a masterstroke, if you ask me.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.