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Japan’s Emperor Akihito ends reign marked by modernisation
TOKYO, April 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Japan’s outgoing Emperor Akihito and
Empress Michiko dramatically modernised the tradition-bound monarchy,
bringing themselves closer to the public and boosting popular support for the
household.
Akihito has broken new ground with everything from his decision to marry
for love to his outspoken calls for peace and expressions of regret over
Japan’s wartime role.
His approach has at times unsettled those who view the emperor as a divine
priest meant to inspire awe, but it has won him broad respect and popularity.
Born in 1933 just as Japan was embarking on its militaristic sweep across
Asia, Akihito was 11 when World War Two ended in defeat.
He inherited the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1989, becoming Japan’s 125th
emperor upon the death of his father Emperor Hirohito.
Hirohito’s rule saw aggressive expansionism by Japan that resulted in the
war’s devastation, but also the institutionalised pacifism of the post-war
constitution drafted by US occupying forces.
Hirohito was kept on the throne after the war but his status was downgraded
from a semi-divine sovereign to a figurehead with no political power.
Akihito embraced that new role and quietly parted from tradition that had
kept emperors away from common people.
– A modern touch –
He was the first imperial heir to marry a commoner, Michiko Shoda, daughter
of a flour magnate.
She was born in 1934 in Tokyo and attended the exclusive all-girls
Christian Sacred Heart School before studying English literature at its
university.
The two met at a tennis tournament and married in 1959 in a wedding that
fuelled a media frenzy.
The then-crown prince’s decision to buck a traditional arranged marriage
and wed for love was seen as a powerful affirmation of democratic Japan.
The young couple also chose to live with their children rather than
allowing nannies to raise them as had been customary.
But their new ways fuelled some criticism inside the palace and beyond, and
Michiko faced relentless scrutiny, especially in the early years of the
marriage.
She gave birth to now-Crown Prince Naruhito in 1960 but suffered a
miscarriage three years later, withdrawing from public life for a period.
Her second son, Prince Akishino, was born in 1965, and she has continued to
suffer bouts of stress-related illness reportedly linked to criticism by
hardliners and tabloid gossip.
Her supporters however credit her with introducing a modern touch to the
imperial household, including showing Akihito how to crouch down or kneel
when visiting disaster victims or people with disabilities.
– ‘Deepest regrets’ –
The pair have come to be known for their presence at the side of survivors
of disasters.
After the 2011 killer earthquake and tsunami that triggered the Fukushima
nuclear meltdown, Akihito made an unprecedented television address to calm a
panicky public.
The couple were in Fukushima two months later, shrugging off the view of
purists who asserted the emperor’s primary duty was to offer prayers, not
meet his subjects.
The wider public however has cheered the couple’s displays of compassion
and relative closeness to the people, something Naruhito has pledged to
continue.
Akihito’s popularity has been seen as allowing him to voice opinions that
sail close to the wind given the prohibition on a political role for the
emperor.
In particular, he has made clear his opposition to nationalism and
expressed “deep remorse” for Japan’s actions during World War Two in remarks
sometimes seen as a rebuke of nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
In a landmark 1992 trip to China, Akihito said Japan had “inflicted great
suffering on the people of China”, adding “I deeply deplore this”.
And while he never visited South Korea, he has voiced “deepest regrets” for
the suffering of Koreans during Japan’s brutal 1910-1945 rule of the Korean
peninsula.
He even said there could be Korean blood in his family — an unthinkable
assertion for those who place great store in the supposed purity of the
Japanese monarchy.
To end his reign, Akihito again broke new ground by making a televised plea
in 2016 to essentially ask the public to let him abdicate.
It prompted parliament and the government to make an exception to the
existing law, which forces emperors to serve until their deaths, so that
Naruhito could replace him.
In the address, he said he had “spent my days searching for and
contemplating on what is the desirable role of the Emperor.”
“I sincerely hope for your understanding,” he said.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0832 hrs