Japanese emperor abdicates: what to expect from Naruhito in the new Reiwa era

Japan’s crown prince will on May 1 transition to become emperor, a role for which he has been groomed since his birth 59 years ago

He will draw from his father’s experience and popularity, but the Oxford-educated royal is expected to have his own opinions and style of rule

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Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:17pm, 29 Apr 2019Updated: 12:00pm, 30 Apr 2019

When Naruhito transitions from crown prince to emperor on May 1, he will assume the role for which he has been groomed since his birth 59 years ago. Like his father, grandfather and previous Japanese monarchs in a lineage that goes back to the year 660, Naruhito will carry the hopes and expectations of a nation on his shoulders.

After he assumes the role of tenno – or “heavenly sovereign” – Naruhito will inevitably draw on the advice and experience of his own father, Emperor Akihito, who will resign a day before his oldest son ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne.

But the new monarch will be acutely aware Japan and the wider world are very different places from when his father was enthroned in January 1989.

“Emperor Akihito has received great support from the Japanese people throughout the Heisei Era,” said Hideya Kawanishi, an associate professor who specialises in Japan’s imperial system at Nagoya University. “The new emperor will also be required to reflect the people’s opinions and he has a serious character, meaning that he will work hard to meet his subjects’ expectations.”

That much he has in common with his father, who earned genuine affection from the public for a personal touch and the numerous times he visited parts of the country hard-hit by natural disasters, including areas of northeast Japan after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

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