Crown Prince Naruhito, left, and Crown Princess Masako, right, pictured in full imperial dress ahead of their wedding in 1993. (Courtesy of Imperial Household Agency)

Oxford-educated prince to take baton from popular emperor

Year of gilded ceremonies rings in Japan's next age

MITSURU OBE, Nikkei staff writer

March 20, 2019 16:08 JST

TOKYO -- Emperor Akihito's announcement in 2016 that he would abdicate the throne was greeted with alarm by Japan's conservatives. Imperial law only envisages succession after the death of a monarch, so traditionalists worried that allowing an emperor to quit would undermine the imperial system.