Parliament of Japan approved a bill on the procedure for the abdication of Emperor Akihito. According to the Japan Times, this will allow the monarch to become the first emperor in 200 years to resign.

The question of the voluntary abdication of 83-year-old Akihito rose in connection with his age. The emperor himself expressed a desire to abdicate in the summer of last year on the air of the national television, explaining this by his advanced age and health. In 2012, Akihito already suffered a five-hour heart operation.

In accordance with the laws of Japan, the emperor can leave the throne only with his death. However, for Akihito, the authorities decided to change this rule. Since the fall of 2016, the country's authorities have been preparing a special bill that would allow the emperor to transfer the "chrysanthemum throne" to the heir.

The date of abdication will be established by the Japanese government by a special decree, it will be held no later than three years after the promulgation of the law on the intestinal succession. After leaving Akihito, his place will be taken by Crown Prince - 57-year-old son of Emperor Naruhito.

Akihito is the 125th emperor of Japan, the eldest son of Emperor Hirohito, in which Japan entered World War II. He ascended the throne in 1989, after the death of his father.

The emperor in Japan performs the functions of a formal head of state. Japanese monarchs were deprived of the right to intervene in the administration of the state in 1947, after Japan's defeat in the war and the adoption of the Constitution. The Japanese monarch can perform only representative functions. The Emperor does not have the right to take property or give it without the approval of Parliament. At the same time, he has personal political immunity and is considered the spiritual leader of the nation.

In Japan, succession is possible only through the male line. However, now most of the representatives of the monarch's family are women. Because of this, according to the Japan Times, the country is discussing the possibility of changing the order of transfer of the throne, under which Japan will be able to rule the Empress. The applicant for the title of the first empress of Japan is the daughter of the heir to the throne - Princess Aiko.

Original article: For the first time in 200 years, the emperor of Japan was allowed to abdicate the throne.