Japan's Crown Prince says will model himself after father as emperor

Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito has turned 57 saying he is ready to become emperor after his father Emperor Akihito, who could abdicate as soon as next year, and that like him, he will be an emperor who “shares the pain and joy of the people”.

A government panel is debating how to allow the 83-year-old Emperor Akihito, who has had heart surgery and prostate cancer treatment, to step down after he said in August that he feared age might make it hard for him to fulfil his duties.

The last time an emperor abdicated was in 1817 and current law does not allow it.

In January, media reports said the government was considering steps that would allow Emperor Akihito to abdicate and for Crown Prince Naruhito to ascend the throne on 1 January, 2019. The government could submit a special abdication law to parliament as early as this spring.

Crown Prince Naruhito said on Thursday that he was “profoundly moved” when Emperor Akihito suggested he would like to step down.

“I accept the Emperor's thinking with sincerity and will bear it in mind all the time as I carry out my duties,” Crown Prince Naruhito said.

He added that he would continue in the footsteps of Emperor Akihito, who has worked hard to heal the wounds of the Second World War, waged in the name of his father, Emperor Hirohito.

“As a symbol of the state and the people of Japan, I will share their pain and their joys, praying for their happiness,” Crown Prince Naruhito said.

The prince, who married former diplomat Masako Owada, has one daughter, 15-year-old Aiko, who is not allowed to ascend the throne because female inheritance is not permitted. Crown Prince Naruhito is followed in the succession by his brother, Prince Akishino, and Prince Akishino's 10-year-old son, Hisahito.

The government panel looking into the abdication has avoided some of the more heated issues, such as whether women should be allowed in the current male-only succession amid concerns about a shortage of successors to the throne.

Crown Prince Naruhito said he is open to discussing ways to have the imperial succession fit the modern era. “The role of the imperial family changes from one era to another, as a new era brings in a fresh breeze,” he said.

Photos of the family released to commemorate Crown Prince Naruhito's birthday show him sitting formally with Masako and Aiko and the Crown Prince touched on a period last autumn when Aiko was absent from school for some six weeks.

“For a time she was unwell, which caused some worry, but thanks to support from her mother, she has now returned to her usual school life,” Crown Prince Naruhito said. An Imperial Household Agency spokesman said there was nothing special to announce about Aiko's health

Some experts say Emperor Akihito's possible abdication is a wake-up call to the larger issues of ageing and a shortage of successors in Japan's 2,000-year-old monarchy – issues that reflect concerns about the country's ageing and declining population.

Reuters