Japan

Princess Kako of Akishino arrives in UK to study at Leeds University

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13th September 2017
Her Imperial Highness Princess Kako of Akishino has arrived in the United Kingdom to study for a year at Leeds University. The 22-year-old granddaughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will be studying performing arts and psychology which will go toward her degree at her university in Japan, the Imperial Household Agency has said. She will stay in a student dormitory. Classes begin for…
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Japan

Japan enacts law allowing Emperor to abdicate

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9th June 2017
Japan’s National Diet, the country’s bicameral legislature, has passed a law to allow 83-year-old Emperor Akihito to abdicate. Japan’s Cabinet approved the bill at the end of May. His Imperial Majesty will be the first monarch in Japan to abdicate for nearly 200 years. The Imperial Household Act did not allow for abdication; this led to the Japanese government to create a new…
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International royalsJapan

Debate over Japanese Emperor’s abdication turns to details about title and role

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14th March 2017
Japan is now poised to create a one-time law to allow Emperor Akihito to abdicate the throne in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, and so the official debate is turning to the finer details. In particular need of clarity is the appropriate title for a former Emperor and whether women should remain part of the Imperial family after marriage to allow for the continuation of the…
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Japan

Empress Michiko of Japan is ill

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13th December 2016
Her Imperial Majesty Empress Michiko of Japan is ill. This was announced in an official statement from the Imperial Household Agency yesterday, on Monday, 12 December. Empress Michiko, age 82, was diagnosed with acute bronchitis last Friday after suffering a slight fever and…
International royalsJapan

Japan's Prince Akishino publicly addresses Emperor's abdication and future of Imperial Family

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30th November 2016
Japan’s Prince Akishino stepped out and chatted with the media on Wednesday on the occasion of his 51st birthday. Prince Akishino is the younger son of the current Emperor Akihito. The Prince said it was good that his father expressed wishes to abdicate back in August. His health isn’t as good as it could be. He said, “It was good that [the Emperor] was able to express in an…
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