2019 Japanese imperial transition


After 30 years on the Chrysanthemum Throne, Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicated on 30 April 2019, being the first Japanese emperor to do so since 1817. This marked the end of the Heisei era and the inception of the Reiwa era, and saw numerous festivities leading up to the accession of his son and successor, Emperor Naruhito. The Enthronement Ceremony took place on 22 October 2019. Akihito's younger son, Prince Akishino, is his brother's heir presumptive.

Emperor and Constitution

Background

In 2010, Emperor Akihito informed his advisory council that he would eventually like to retire from his position. However, no action was taken by senior members of the Imperial Household Agency.
On 13 July 2016, national broadcaster NHK reported that the Emperor wished to abdicate in favour of his elder son Crown Prince Naruhito within a few years.
Senior officials within the Imperial Household Agency denied that there was any official plan for the monarch to abdicate. A potential abdication by the Emperor would require an amendment to the Imperial Household Law, which has no provisions for such a move.

National speech

On 8 August 2016, the Emperor gave a rare televised address, where he emphasized his advanced age and declining health; this address was interpreted as an implication of his intention to abdicate.

Legislation

With the intention of the abdication now known, the Cabinet Office appointed Yasuhiko Nishimura as the Imperial Household Agency's Vice Grand Steward. In October 2016, the Cabinet Office appointed a panel of experts to debate the Emperor's abdication.
In January 2017, the Lower House Budget committee began informally debating the constitutional nature of the abdication.
On 19 May 2017, the bill that would allow Akihito to abdicate was issued by the Japanese government's cabinet. On 8 June 2017, the National Diet passed a one-off bill allowing Akihito to abdicate, and for the government to begin arranging the process of handing over the position to Crown Prince Naruhito. The abdication officially occurred on 30 April 2019.
He received the title of Jōkō, an abbreviation of Daijō Tennō, upon abdicating, and his wife, the Empress, became Jōkōgō.

Imperial Household Council

On 1 December 2017, the Imperial Household Council, which had not met in 24 years, did so in order to schedule the ceremonies involved in the first such transfer of power in two centuries.
The Imperial Household Council consists of the prime minister, the speaker and vice-speaker of the House of Representatives, the president and vice-president of the House of Councillors, the grand steward of the Imperial Household Agency, the chief justice and one justice of the Supreme Court, and two members of the Imperial family. Prince Akishino, the Emperor's younger son, asked to recuse himself as he would become the next Crown Prince. He was replaced by Prince Hitachi, the Emperor's 82-year-old younger brother. The other member of the imperial family was Hitachi's wife, Princess Hanako.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the date was chosen to permit the old Emperor to be able to preside over the 30th anniversary Jubilee and to coincide with the Golden Week annual holiday period, turning the changeover from a period of mourning and makeshift ceremonial into a joyous, well-planned festival.
Finally, on 8 December 2017, the government created a special committee to oversee the events. According to Yoshihide Suga: "It will deal with the matter properly, taking into consideration the possible impact on the people's lives."

Preparations for the imperial transition, 2017–2019

The committee met for the first time in January 2018, and the following month announced that a plan called a "basic policy statement," would be released on 3 April. Official farewell celebrations began with a 30th Jubilee ceremony on 12 February 2019, a delay which would avoid any implication of a celebration of the death of the Emperor Shōwa on 7 January.

Golden Week, 2019

The government consolidated the Golden Week into a special ten-day holiday block lasting from 27 April to 6 May. Even without the imperial transition, 29 April and 3–6 May were scheduled as national holidays in 2019, following the weekend of 27–28 April. To mark the imperial transition, the government determined that abdication and enthronement would both be national holidays. Japanese law states that a regular work day sandwiched between two national holidays becomes a public holiday.

Calendars

Since the Meiji Restoration in 1867, a new Japanese Era starts the day after the old emperor dies. However, in Emperor Akihito's case, manufacturers of calendars, forms, and other paper products needed to know the new Era's name in advance to produce wares in a timely manner.
While the Era names for the Shōwa and Heisei eras were kept state secrets until the deaths of the previous emperors, that was not possible in this case, because an abdication is unprecedented since the 1885 Meiji Constitution was adopted. In order to prevent divisive debate on the subject, delaying the announcement as late as is practically possible, either the old Emperor's birthday or his Jubilee celebrations had been suggested.
Until the Era name became known, computers and software manufacturers needed to test their systems before the transition in order to ensure that the new era will be handled correctly by their software. Some systems provided test mechanisms to simulate a new era ahead of time.
The new Era name, Reiwa, was revealed on 1 April 2019 by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga during a televised press conference.

Enthronement Ceremony

The Enthronement Ceremony for Emperor Naruhito took place in Tokyo on 22 October 2019, marking the end of the transition period. It was an extra holiday. It was attended by current and former Japanese politicians and more than 3,000 other official guests, which included more than 120 heads of state and government, as well as high-profile delegates from about 210 countries and 9 organizations.
The Enthronement Ceremony began at 9 am local time with the private "Kashikodokoro-Omae-no-gi" ritual when the Emperor, dressed in white traditional court wear, visiting "Kashikodokoro," the main sanctuary in the Tokyo Imperial Palace where the Sun Goddess is said to be enshrined.
At 1 pm local time, the main ceremony begins. In the ceremony, Emperor Naruhito wore the sokutai and Empress Masako wore the jūnihitoe. He then took his place on the 6.5-metre Takamikura throne alongside Masako at the Matsu-no-Ma, and gave a speech which emphasized his role as the symbol of the State. The speech then followed by a congratulatory speech by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and three cheers of banzai.

Officials and dignitaries

The enthronement was attended by nearly 600 foreign delegates. They included 15 kings, 7 queens, 4 princesses, 11 princes, 70 presidents, 6 governor-generals, 27 premiers, 2 chancellors, 10 vice presidents, 6 deputy premiers, 9 former leaders, 38 national officials and 9 multilateral dignitaries.
The guests were hosted at the Hotel New Otani in Tokyo, and a state banquet hosted by Emperor Naruhito himself was organized later in the day.
The ceremony was considered to be one of the "largest gathering of world leaders" in the contemporary world's and Japan's history.
List of heads of state, government and dignitaries

;1. Kings, queens, princes, princesses and other monarchy guests
;2. Presidents and vice presidents
;3. Governors-general, prime ministers, and deputy prime ministers
;4. Ministers and cabinet-level officials
;5. Former heads of state, representatives of international organizations and other guests
;6. Notes

Post-enthronement ceremony

Parade

A Parade to celebrate the Naruhito's enthronement as a new emperor took place on 10 November at 3 pm local time as tens of thousands of people gathered in the city centre of Tokyo waving the Japanese flag. Toyota Century convertible, which the couple used was followed by vehicles with Crown Prince Fumihito and his wife Crown Princess Kiko as well as Shinzō Abe.
The procession forming a 400-metre motorcade was started from Tokyo Imperial Palace, passed the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the main gate of the Diet building before arriving at the couple's residence in the Akasaka Imperial Grounds on the 4.6-kilometre-long route.

Timeline

;Heisei Era

2010

Emperor Akihito informs his advisory council that he would like to retire eventually and asks for their help in arranging this.

2016

;Reiwa Era
The following table lists abdication and enthronement ceremonies in chronological order. Private ceremonies are listed as "Private". State acts are listed as "Public".