5 ms·

I mean he basically begged to be fired, so it’s probably not all that much fun. They sacrifice any semblance of normalcy and have an endless calendar of ceremon

I mean he basically begged to be fired, so it’s probably not all that much fun. They sacrifice any semblance of normalcy and have an endless calendar of ceremonies and events. Emperor Akihito acquitted himself pretty well in the job, and most people in Japan seem to be either indifferent to the royals or appreciate their focus on peace and calm and continuity. They’re a pretty boring royal family, which means they’re doing a good job I think.

jcranmer 7y ago
One of the particular difficulties of the Japanese royal family is you have the ultra-nationalists who never really got over Japan's loss in WW2 and the resulting changes to the Japanese royal nature, but the royalty has. You end up with a situation where the emperor indicates that he wants the nature of the royal family to change slightly, but the biggest supporters of royalty don't want to listen to him. This is rather different compared to the constitutional monarchies that are common in Europe: it's hard to imagine any major political party (even the hard-right parties) arguing against the monarch if the monarch is suggesting a more liberal position.
- nihonde 7y ago
  Well, Abe and LDP are generally all the way in on Nippon Kaigi and they supported his abdication. The first news I heard of it was Abe’s appeal to the nation to allow the Emperor to step down.
  - mikekchar 7y ago
    They had no choice but to support it. The emperor is incredibly popular in Japan. In fact, the abdication threw a spanner in the works for Abe and the LDP wrt the constitutional changes hey wanted for allowing Japan to get involved in external conflicts if its allies are involved. For some history, this is the second time Abe has been prime minister. The first time he had to resign. This was directly after proposing the constitutional change. Now, Wikipedia (and the western media it seems) reported that Abe resigned due to the poor performance of his economic policies. However, at the time my impression was that he resigned over the backlash to the constitutional proposals. At the time my Japanese wasn't very good, so I could definitely have gotten it wrong, but that was certainly what I understood. Fast forward to a few years ago. Abe got back into power, instituted his Abenomics and then re-proposed the constitutional changes. It seemed like it was inevitable because they had enough time to push through the changes and write the constitutional law before the next general election. And then out of the blue the emperor announced, "I want to retire. Please implement the constitutional changes that would allow me to do so". These changes, perhaps not incidentally, meant that Abe could not draft his changes until after the next general election. It has been suggested (by the NHK no less -- unfortunately you'll have to take my word for it, but that's where I heard of the notion) that this was an intentional move by the emperor. Who knows... However it is true that he has been suffering from poor health and has not been able to perform all of his duties. Anyway, the general election was held and Abe and the LDP survived, so presumably they will go ahead with their plans. However, the latest I've seen is that there is still considerable opposition in the populace (with over 50% of the population opposing any changes to the constitution). The last I heard Abe has said that he might not go forward with it. They are under increasing pressure from the US, though. Also, Japan has wanted the US out of Okinawa for a long time, with the US always promising that they will leave as soon as their base in Guam is complete (which never seems to happen). I don't think the US will ever leave Okinawa without Japan being able to take military action the in the sea of Japan because otherwise China will pretty much have free reign there. At the moment, all Japan can do is show up with the coast guard and say "Please leave. Pretty please".
    - nihonde 7y ago
      My maybe-controversial view is that peace and the removal of the US protection racket are consistent aims, and the constitutional changes are not necessarily a precursor to Japanese aggression. Still, regular people in Japan seem to be mostly completely checked out of their own politics, so this is a game played among professional politicians and some business leaders.
- baybal2 7y ago
  Reminds me of situation during golden age in Brazil
toufka 7y ago
There is a strong argument I heard, in Japan, that, “everyone should be free to chose their lives, free of a monarch; and that includes the emperor’s family.” Essentially, the emperor is the last unfree person. They must live trapped in their little castle. They must speak differently than all other people. They must not interact with people of their choosing. A curious point.
Itaxpica 7y ago
It could be worse; in the Heian period the Emperor's job was performing religious rituals basically constantly, and it was widely recognized as so exhausting that emperors generally ruled for about a decade and then retired. (This led to a small group of retired emperors, called the 'cloistered emperors', who were nominally Buddhist monks and ordinary citizens but in fact did much of the actual work of ruling the country, since the actual emperor was too busy with religious duties to exert much political power)
Tsubasachan 7y ago
That is the secret ingredient to being a good monarch: be absolutely boring and try to not upset anyone. The system in my country is that until you take the throne you get a relatively normal life. Hell doesn't start until you're at least 40. The Royal family has 400 years of experience so they're used to it. Relatively few ran away or killed themselves. Although a few did go nuts. They know it has to be done.

jcranmer 7y ago

One of the particular difficulties of the Japanese royal family is you have the ultra-nationalists who never really got over Japan's loss in WW2 and the resulting changes to the Japanese royal nature, but the royalty has. You end up with a situation where the emperor indicates that he wants the nature of the royal family to change slightly, but the biggest supporters of royalty don't want to listen to him. This is rather different compared to the constitutional monarchies that are common in Europe: it's hard to imagine any major political party (even the hard-right parties) arguing against the monarch if the monarch is suggesting a more liberal position.

nihonde 7y ago
Well, Abe and LDP are generally all the way in on Nippon Kaigi and they supported his abdication. The first news I heard of it was Abe’s appeal to the nation to allow the Emperor to step down.
- mikekchar 7y ago
  They had no choice but to support it. The emperor is incredibly popular in Japan. In fact, the abdication threw a spanner in the works for Abe and the LDP wrt the constitutional changes hey wanted for allowing Japan to get involved in external conflicts if its allies are involved. For some history, this is the second time Abe has been prime minister. The first time he had to resign. This was directly after proposing the constitutional change. Now, Wikipedia (and the western media it seems) reported that Abe resigned due to the poor performance of his economic policies. However, at the time my impression was that he resigned over the backlash to the constitutional proposals. At the time my Japanese wasn't very good, so I could definitely have gotten it wrong, but that was certainly what I understood. Fast forward to a few years ago. Abe got back into power, instituted his Abenomics and then re-proposed the constitutional changes. It seemed like it was inevitable because they had enough time to push through the changes and write the constitutional law before the next general election. And then out of the blue the emperor announced, "I want to retire. Please implement the constitutional changes that would allow me to do so". These changes, perhaps not incidentally, meant that Abe could not draft his changes until after the next general election. It has been suggested (by the NHK no less -- unfortunately you'll have to take my word for it, but that's where I heard of the notion) that this was an intentional move by the emperor. Who knows... However it is true that he has been suffering from poor health and has not been able to perform all of his duties. Anyway, the general election was held and Abe and the LDP survived, so presumably they will go ahead with their plans. However, the latest I've seen is that there is still considerable opposition in the populace (with over 50% of the population opposing any changes to the constitution). The last I heard Abe has said that he might not go forward with it. They are under increasing pressure from the US, though. Also, Japan has wanted the US out of Okinawa for a long time, with the US always promising that they will leave as soon as their base in Guam is complete (which never seems to happen). I don't think the US will ever leave Okinawa without Japan being able to take military action the in the sea of Japan because otherwise China will pretty much have free reign there. At the moment, all Japan can do is show up with the coast guard and say "Please leave. Pretty please".
  - nihonde 7y ago
    My maybe-controversial view is that peace and the removal of the US protection racket are consistent aims, and the constitutional changes are not necessarily a precursor to Japanese aggression. Still, regular people in Japan seem to be mostly completely checked out of their own politics, so this is a game played among professional politicians and some business leaders.
baybal2 7y ago
Reminds me of situation during golden age in Brazil

toufka 7y ago

There is a strong argument I heard, in Japan, that, “everyone should be free to chose their lives, free of a monarch; and that includes the emperor’s family.” Essentially, the emperor is the last unfree person. They must live trapped in their little castle. They must speak differently than all other people. They must not interact with people of their choosing. A curious point.

Itaxpica 7y ago

It could be worse; in the Heian period the Emperor's job was performing religious rituals basically constantly, and it was widely recognized as so exhausting that emperors generally ruled for about a decade and then retired. (This led to a small group of retired emperors, called the 'cloistered emperors', who were nominally Buddhist monks and ordinary citizens but in fact did much of the actual work of ruling the country, since the actual emperor was too busy with religious duties to exert much political power)

Tsubasachan 7y ago

That is the secret ingredient to being a good monarch: be absolutely boring and try to not upset anyone. The system in my country is that until you take the throne you get a relatively normal life. Hell doesn't start until you're at least 40. The Royal family has 400 years of experience so they're used to it. Relatively few ran away or killed themselves. Although a few did go nuts. They know it has to be done.