The Japanese government has started to discuss a plan to arrange for Emperor Akihito to abdicate on Dec. 23, 2018, which is his 85th birthday, and for Crown Prince Naruhito (56) to ascend the throne on that day or the following day, a government announced.
The idea emerged a few hours after a senior Imperial Household Agency official said it would be “difficult” for the Crown Prince to begin his reign as the new emperor on Jan. 1, 2019, as has been recently reported by Japanese media, due to key events held every year on New Year’s Day.
As for when the name of the new era will go into use, indicating the reign of a new emperor, the government hopes to implement it from the beginning of 2019, even though the application of the name traditionally coincides with the day a new emperor ascends the throne.
An era name is adopted in Japan for the reign of each emperor, with the current era called Heisei.