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Emperor Akihito: Japanese monarch declares historic abdication
- sara27362 7y agoEven you can't believe there is a hen in world's biggest animals See the video how they looks and what they do https://cutt.ly/1rOU7Q https://cutt.ly/1rOU7Q Fish walking with legs like humans See the video on link below http://bit.ly/2XRGyYD http://bit.ly/2XRGyYD This couple is different Girls are both twins and boys are also twin brothers see how they look in video http://bit.ly/2VwoZQd http://bit.ly/2VwoZQd A cute dog is dancing in video Just watch this video and try to control your laugh http://bit.ly/2ZK1XVs http://bit.ly/2ZK1XVs
- yingw787 7y agoIf you haven't been already, the Imperial Gardens in Tokyo are very much worth a visit. I don't think I've ever been in an area that just felt so sacred. If mahogany green was ever a thing, that's what the colors of those trees were. And bonsais that were several hundred years old. Personally, I don't even think Kyoto gives the same vibe. It's amazing.
- nihonde 7y agoI agree and three other spectacular locations leap to mind: the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, Kenrokuen in Kanazawa, and the most spectacular of all — Ise Jingū.
- js2 7y agoOut of curiosity, what other places have you visited that you’re comparing it to?
- yingw787 7y agoTaiwan: watching the sun set over Kaohsiung Harbor from this old fort on a mountain. Pretty magical. South Korea: Climbing Hallasan volcano on Jeju Island. Really neat. China: Exploring Suzhou/Hangzhou old towns. Suzhou is like the Venice of China. All these places warrant a trip in and of themselves; but they didn’t feel holy to me if that makes any sense. Imperial Gardens felt different, like one thread of contiguous history, unrent by tragedy and upheaval, touching you on the face.
- js2 7y agoThank you. I've not yet been to that part of the world. I've been to the Western Wall, but for me, sadly, it was just a wall.
- basetop 7y agoWell at least you can't accuse them of false advertising. Israel seems like one of those places where it's either a magical place or a complete disappointment. I've heard some say it's the best place they've ever visited and others say it is a complete letdown. I suppose it depends on how religious you are.
- js2 7y agoI identify strongly as a Jew, but I'm not very religious. I've visited Israel three times and enjoyed every visit. Jerusalem is an amazing city. I just had trouble finding holiness at the Western Wall. I think, for myself, I either need more quiet and solitude, or conversely, to be involved in group prayer. But I don't pray much and I'm not very practiced at it. I'm also an atheist, so prayer for me is a bit hard to explain. Anyway, for me, the wall itself didn't evoke anything. I think there was just too much commotion with everyone doing mostly their own thing. I did enjoy watching everyone else experiencing the place, though. If nothing else, there's a few thousand years of history there to see.
- Isamu 7y agoNow Prince Naruto will rule. Oops, I mean Naruhito.
- jon-wood 7y agoI seem to remember there was something a while back about what the next Japanese era would be named. Is it normal for them to prepare for that so that they're not scrabbling to find a new one when the emperor dies, or was there a general awareness that Akihito would be abdicating in the near future?
- cubecul 7y agoAkihito had announced in 2016 that he wanted to abdicate[1] so I think that's how they put together that process to name the new era. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36784045 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36784045
- ghostly_s 7y agoAs covered in the article, he announced his intentions a few years ago. This is the first transfer of the throne in the digital era, so there was understandably quite a bit more consternation around the naming issues -- I imagine in the past, naming the new era when the new emperor ascended wasn't a big deal for anyone outside perhaps the stationery industry.
- delecti 7y agoHe announced back in late 2017 that he was abdicating. It's normal for the new era's name to be a bit of a secret, it just hasn't happened since 1989, so it's not normal for it to matter that computers need to be updated with the new name.
- jcranmer 7y agoThis was a preplanned abdication, so there was a lot of planning involved. For example, Unicode reserved the era name code point, but couldn't actually announce the code point because it wasn't announced until April 1. Similarly, people who have to support the Japanese calendar (such as Microsoft) had dry runs to plan for the name change with placeholders so they could update quickly. This is the first time that the era has changed when computers were in widespread use, so there already had to be changes from the traditional "we're not going to announce the new era until it starts" (much to the chagrin of the ultra-nationalists).
- tombert 7y agoI'll admit a lot of ignorance on this; what does the Emperor of Japan actually do now? Japan has a prime minister position, doesn't it? Is the Emperor a figurehead or do they have power?
- 3JPLW 7y agoIn the first section of the article: > While the emperor holds no political power, he serves as a national figurehead.
- tombert 7y agoFair point, I should learn to read. Thanks!
- utexaspunk 7y agoSounds like a pretty good gig. How do I apply?
- sdegutis 7y agoThat's sad. In my observation of governments, if they do not have a single strong leader at the very top who answers to no one but serves everyone, then those who do govern will be so scattered in their plans and opinions that the government will be rendered almost completely ineffective at fulfilling its primary duties. A single strong leader at the top is needed, someone with courage and a strong resolve, and a clear vision of what's best for his country. It may be said that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" but not if the man believes in and is led by absolute truth, such as was King Louis of France.
- lamarpye 7y agoSend better trolls.
- moccachino 7y agoSure, a benevolent, supremely intelligent and incorruptible dictator would be the best leader for any country. But governments should be about stability, resilience and steady progress, and not optimizing for superb efficiency at the cost of being extremely unstable. Edit: Also to be clear, the dictator in question would be a fairy tale person. As such we could add a requirement for dragons, that would be cool.
- jessaustin 7y agoI would be totally cool pledging my allegiance to a dragon lord. Until then, all these politicians can jump in a lake.
- sithadmin 7y ago>In my observation of governments, if they do not have a single strong leader at the very top who answers to no one but serves everyone, then those who do govern will be so scattered in their plans and opinions that the government will be rendered almost completely ineffective at fulfilling its primary duties. Nearly every extant democracy, even those with constitutional monarchs, is a strong counterpoint to your claim. >It may be said that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" but not if the man believes in and is led by absolute truth The problem with the 'philosopher king' is that it's a Platonic ideal, and never really present in reality.
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y agoTruly the end of an era. Akihito became emperor in 1989. At that time it seemed humanity was finally ready to put great power conflicts in the past. Akihito represented a generation that had experienced the horrors of WWII as children and saw the need to make sure that never happened again. Now as Akihito abdicates, the whispers of great power conflicts are starting again. Old alliances and coalitions that have kept the peace for 70 years are being questioned. Nationalism is rising throughout the world. I hope the new Emperor’s reign will be just as peaceful as his father’s, but I am pessimistic.
- moate 7y agoPeaceful for Japan or the world at large?
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y agoI think they are tied together. China and the US are the two biggest world powers. Any conflict between them would draw Japan in. Japan also has rivalries with China and North Korea. Any conflict between Japan and one or more of those would draw the US in. If the there is a conflict in the eastern Pacific, Australia would like join in as well. It is also highly likely that the UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland will likely join as well and possibly Germany and France.
- moate 7y agoI mean if you're considering his reign a "peaceful time" you're missing all the things that have happened in Africa, the Middle Ease, or Latin America. I think we just have different definitions of "peace" here. Sure, nobody is dropping nukes or waging a world war, but there's still been constant conflicts somewhere.
- basetop 7y agoI think Fukuyama's "End of History..." died a while ago. Actually, it probably never existed and was simply idealized wishful thinking. As they say, there can be no peace without war. What's strange is that we know peace eventually ends. But I also can't see how we can have a war amongst nuclear powers. Could we have a peaceful war? Is it possible? Is that what the cold war was? With the creation of the EU, rising china, resurgence russia, india, ASEAN, africa ( eventually ), the geopolitical landscape is going to change. From a historical, economical and demographic perspective, the geopolitical center should move somewhere in europe or asia from the US eventually. There are 1 billion more chinese. One billion more indians. 500 million more europeans. It is a strange quirk of history that the US is the leader of the world.
- Jenny_Williams 7y agoI didn't even know Japan still had emperors. That's kind of amazing