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Japan Clears Way for Emperor to Step Down in 1st Abdication in 200 Years

posted by n1 on Monday June 12 2017, @04:06AM   Printer-friendly
from the game-of-thrones dept.

MrPlow writes:

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

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday June 14 2017, @12:44AM (1 child)

    by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday June 14 2017, @12:44AM (#525182)

    And he's got precedent, having married a divorcee.

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  • (Score: 2) by dry on Wednesday June 14 2017, @04:54AM

    by dry (223) on Wednesday June 14 2017, @04:54AM (#525268) Journal

    It's a good excuse if Parliament decided to push him out like they did with Edward. Parliament is Supreme, something Americans forget with all their talk about George the Third being a Tyrant, whereas the Supremacy of Parliament was settled back in 1688 or so when they fired James the Second along with his son.