2019 Japanese imperial transition

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The 2019 Japanese imperial transition occurred on 30 April 2019 when the then 85-year-old Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicated from the Chrysanthemum Throne after reigning for 30 years,^[1] becoming the first Emperor of Japan to do so since Emperor Kōkaku in 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 eldest son and successor, Emperor Naruhito.^[2] The Enthronement Ceremony took place on 22 October 2019.^[3] Akihito's younger son, Prince Akishino, is his brother's heir presumptive. The ceremony cost 16.6 billion Yen.^[4]

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.^[6]

On 13 July 2016, national broadcaster NHK reported that the Emperor wished to abdicate in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, within a few years.^[7]

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.^[8][9]

On 8 August 2016, the Emperor gave a rare televised address, where he emphasized his advanced age and declining health;^[5] this address was interpreted as an implication of his intention to abdicate.^[10][11]

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.^[12]

In January 2017, the Lower House Budget committee began informally debating the constitutional nature of the abdication.^[6]

On 19 May 2017, the bill that would allow Akihito to abdicate was issued by the Cabinet of Japan. On 8 June 2017, the National Diet passed it into law, permitting the government to begin arranging the process of handing over the position to Crown Prince Naruhito.^[13] This meant the Imperial Household Law was changed for the first time since 1949. The date of the abdication was set for 30 April 2019.^[14]

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.^[15][16]

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. Fumihito, Prince Akishino, the Emperor's younger son, asked to recuse himself as he would become the next Crown Prince. He was replaced by Masahito, Prince Hitachi, the Emperor's 82-year-old younger brother. The other member of the imperial family was Hitachi's wife, Hanako, Princess Hitachi.^[17]

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.^[18]

Finally, on 8 December 2017, the government created a special committee to oversee the events. According to Suga, it would "deal with the matter properly, taking into consideration the possible impact on the people's lives."^[19]

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.^[20] 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.^[21]

Since the Meiji Restoration in 1867, a new Japanese era starts the day after the death of the previous emperor. 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.^[22][23][6]

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 had been unprecedented since the 1889 Meiji Constitution was adopted. In order to prevent divisive debate on the subject, delaying the announcement as late as was practically possible – either the old Emperor's birthday or his jubilee celebrations – had been suggested.^[24]

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 would be handled correctly by their software. Some systems provided test mechanisms to simulate a new era ahead of time.^[25]

The new era name, Reiwa (令和), was revealed on 1 April 2019 by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga during a televised press conference.^[26]

On 30 April 2019, the Emperor announced his formal abdication during a ceremony at the Tokyo Imperial Palace.^[27] Akihito formally ceased to be emperor at midnight JST on 1 May, which heralded the beginning of the Reiwa era.^[28] He received the title of Jōkō (上皇, Emperor Emeritus), an abbreviation of Daijō Tennō (太上天皇), upon abdicating, and his wife, the Empress, became Jōkōgō (上皇后, Empress Emerita).^[29] The formal accession ceremony of Emperor Naruhito took place the following morning.^[28]

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 the 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.^[30]

The enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito took place at the Tokyo Imperial Palace on 22 October 2019, marking the end of the transition period. It was an extra holiday.^[31] It was attended by roughly 2,000 dignitaries, including heads of state and government and representatives of around 174 countries.^[32][33]

The ceremony began at 9 am JST (02:00 UTC) with the private Kashikodokoro-Ōmae-no-gi (賢所大前の儀) ritual when the Emperor, dressed in white traditional court wear, visited the Kashiko-dokoro, the main sanctuary in the Tokyo Imperial Palace where the Sun Goddess is said to be enshrined.^[34]

At 1 pm JST (06:00 UTC), the main portion of the ceremony began. Emperor Naruhito wore the sokutai and Empress Masako wore the jūnihitoe. They took their places on the 6.5-metre (21-foot) Takamikura throne at the Matsu-no-Ma (Pine Hall), and the Emperor gave a speech which emphasized his role as the symbol of the State.^[34] The speech then followed by a congratulatory speech by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and three cheers of banzai.^[35] A state banquet hosted by the new Emperor was organized later in the day.^[36]

A parade to celebrate Naruhito's enthronement as Emperor took place on 10 November at 3 pm local time (06:00 UTC) as tens of thousands of people gathered in the city centre of Tokyo waving the Japanese flag. The Emperor and Empress used a Toyota Century convertible, which was followed by vehicles with Crown Prince Fumihito and his wife Crown Princess Kiko as well as Shinzō Abe.^[37][38]

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 (3-mile-long) route.^[39][40]

Heisei era

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

• July: Emperor Akihito leaks to the press his wishes to abdicate.
• 13 July: NHK reports his wishes to the public.
• 8 August: The Emperor makes address to the public on television and radio implying the above wish.^[41]
• September: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appoints a committee to investigate the legal ramifications of a possible abdication.

• 12 January: Public debate on abdication in the House of Representatives Budget committee.
• 11 May: A report of a joint committee of the National Diet recommends a one-off bill to facilitate the first imperial abdication in two centuries.
• 19 May: Third Abe Cabinet (Second Reshuffle) introduces the Emperor abdication bill.^[42]
• 2 June: The abdication bill passes the House of Representatives (Lower House of the National Diet).^[43]
• 9 June: The abdication bill passes the House of Councillors (Upper House of the National Diet).^[43]
• November: The Cabinet suggests that 30 April 2019 will be an appropriate date of abdication.
• 1 December: The Imperial Household Council, which has not met in a quarter century, does so and approves the date suggested.^[44][45]
• 8 December: The Cabinet approves the date, authorizing the creation of an "imperial transition committee" to oversee the ceremonies involved, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga as chairman.^[46]

• January: The committee meets for the first time.
• 20 February: Preliminary paper on official ceremonials issued stating that the abdication will be a state occasion.^[46]
• 3 April: White Paper on official ceremonials is issued by the committee.^[20]
• 23 December: The final celebration of Akihito's birthday as the Emperor.

• 8 January: 30th Anniversary Jubilee begins with commemoration ceremonies for the Emperor Shōwa.^[47] Start of official farewell celebrations for Emperor Akihito.
• 14 February: A survey was listed out for suggestions about Naruhito's era name.^[48]
• 24 February: 30th Jubilee of Akihito celebrations at the National Theater.^[21][49]
• 25 February: The Imperial Household Agency announces that Akihito and Michiko's English titles upon abdication will be His Imperial Majesty The Emperor Emeritus and Her Imperial Majesty The Empress Emerita, respectively.^[50]
• 12 March: Traditional private abdication ceremonies and rituals began with the Kashikodokoro-ni-Taii-oyobi-sono-Kijitsu-Hōkoku-no-gi ceremony.
  • Kashikodokoro-ni-Taii-oyobi-sono-Kijitsu-Hōkoku-no-gi (賢所に退位及びその期日奉告の儀) in which Emperor Akihito reports his abdication to the sun goddess Amaterasu-ōmikami at the Kashiko-dokoro of the Three Palace Sanctuaries of the Imperial Palace.^[51]
  • Kōreiden-Shinden-ni-Taii-oyobi-sono-Kijitsu-Hōkoku-no-gi (皇霊殿神殿に退位及びその期日奉告の儀) in which Emperor Akihito reports his abdication to the Ancestral Spirits of the Imperial Family from one year after their death and the Amatsukami (天津神) from Takamagahara and Kunitsukami (国津神) from Japanese mythology at the Kōrei-den and Shin-den of the Three Palace Sanctuaries of the Imperial Palace respectively.
  • Jingū-Jinmu-Tennō-Sanryō-oyobi-Shōwa-Tennō-izen-Yondai-no-Tennō-Sanryō-ni-Chokushi-Hakken-no-gi (神宮神武天皇山陵及び昭和天皇以前四代の天皇山陵に勅使発遣の儀) in which Imperial messengers and priests are sent to the Ise Grand Shrine, the mausoleum of Emperor Jimmu, and the mausoleums of the 4 most recent Emperors to report Emperor Akihito's abdication.
• 15 March: Traditional private abdication rituals.
  • Jingū-ni-Hohei-no-gi (神宮に奉幣の儀) Imperial messengers and priests made offerings and reported Emperor Akihito's abdication at the Ise Grand Shrine.
  • Jinmu-Tennō-Sanryō-oyobi-Shōwa-Tennō-izen-Yondai-no-Tennō-Sanryō-ni-Hōhei-no-gi (神武天皇山陵及び昭和天皇以前四代の天皇山陵に奉幣の儀) Imperial messengers and priests reported Emperor Akihito's abdication to the mausoleum of Emperor Jimmu, and the mausoleums of the 4 most recent Emperors.
• 26 March: Jinmu-Tennō-Sanryō-ni-Shin'etsu-no-gi (神武天皇山陵に親謁の儀) The Emperor and Empress paid respects at the mausoleum of Emperor Jimmu in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture.^[51]
• 1 April: The new Era name is approved by the Cabinet, and is officially announced to the world by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga as Reiwa (令和).^[52]
• 18 April: Jingū-ni-Shin'etsu-no-gi (神宮に親謁の儀) The Emperor and Empress pay respects at the Ise Grand Shrine in Ise, Mie Prefecture.^[51]
• 21 April: Local elections happen in Japan.^[53]
• 23 April: Shōwa-Tennō-Sanryō-ni-Shin'etsu-no-gi (昭和天皇山陵に親謁の儀) The Emperor and Empress pay respects at the mausoleum of his late father, Emperor Shōwa, at the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Hachiōji, Tokyo.^[51]
• 27 April: Extra Holiday: Start of Golden Week holiday season.^[54]
• 28 April: Extra Holiday
• 29 April: Shōwa Day
• 30 April: Taiirei-Seiden-no-gi (退位礼正殿の儀) Emperor Akihito announces his resignation from the throne and receives audience with the representatives of the people for the last time during a relatively brief ceremony in the Pine Hall (Matsu-no-Ma); the ceremony also featured two of the Three Sacred Treasures, and the Privy Seal and State Seal. Akihito becomes the first Jōkō since 1840. Heisei era comes to an end.^[55]

Reiwa era

• 1 May: Beginning of the Reiwa era and accession date of Emperor Naruhito.
  • Kenji-tō-Shōkei-no-gi (剣璽等承継の儀) Emperor Naruhito inherits two of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan, as well as the Privy Seal and State Seal. This ceremony also takes place in the Hall of Pines.^[56][57][58]
  • Sokui-go-Chōken-no-gi (即位後朝見の儀) in which Emperor Naruhito meets for the first time with the representatives of the people.
• 2 May: Extra Holiday
• 3 May: Constitution Memorial Day
• 4 May: Greenery Day
• 5 May: Children's Day
• 6 May: Extra Holiday: End of Golden Week Celebrations.
• 22 October: Enthronement Ceremony
  • Sokuirei-Seiden-no-gi (即位礼正殿の儀) in which Emperor Naruhito proclaims the enthronement and receives felicitations from representatives of the people from at home and abroad.
• 22, 25, 29, 31 October: Kyōen-no-gi (饗宴の儀) Court banquets to celebrate the enthronement and receive congratulations from guests.
• 10 November (rescheduled from 22 October):^[59] Shukuga-Onretsu-no-gi (祝賀御列の儀) Procession to show and receive good wishes from the people by motor car.
• 14–15 November: Daijōsai (大嘗祭)^[60]

• 23 February: The first celebration of Naruhito's birthday as the Emperor.
• 8 November (rescheduled from 19 April): Fumihito, Prince Akishino was promoted to kōshi (a rank equivalent to crown prince).

The following table lists abdication and enthronement ceremonies in chronological order. Private ceremonies are listed as "Private". State acts are listed as "Public".^[61][62]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Imperial transition of Japan in 2019.

• Chrysanthemum taboo
• Daijō Tennō (retired Emperor)
• Enthronement of the Japanese emperor
• Imperial House of Japan
• Japanese era name
• List of emperors of Japan

• Ceremonies and Rites related to the Imperial Succession (the Imperial Household Agency)
• Ceremonies and Rites related to the Imperial Succession (the Cabinet Public Relations Office, Cabinet Secretariat)