2019 Japanese imperial transition
[6] On 13 July 2016, national broadcaster NHK reported that the Emperor wished to abdicate in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, within a few years.
[10][11] With the intention of the abdication now known, the Cabinet Office appointed Yasuhiko Nishimura as the Imperial Household Agency's Vice Grand Steward.
On 8 June 2017, the National Diet passed it into law, permitting the government to begin arranging the process of handing over the position to Crown Prince Naruhito.
[14] On 1 December 2017, the Imperial Household Council, which had not met in 24 years, did so in order to schedule the ceremonies involved in the first such transfer of power in two centuries.
"[19] The committee met for the first time in January 2018, and the following month announced that a plan called a "basic policy statement," would be released on 3 April.
However, in Emperor Akihito's case, manufacturers of calendars, forms, and other paper products needed to know the new era's name in advance to produce wares in a timely manner.
In order to prevent divisive debate on the subject, delaying the announcement as late as was practically possible – either the old Emperor's birthday or his jubilee celebrations – had been suggested.
[25] The new era name, Reiwa (令和), was revealed on 1 April 2019 by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga during a televised press conference.
[30] The enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito took place at the Tokyo Imperial Palace on 22 October 2019, marking the end of the transition period.
[32][33] The ceremony began at 9 am JST (02:00 UTC) with the private Kashikodokoro-Ōmae-no-gi (賢所大前の儀) ritual when the Emperor, dressed in white traditional court wear, visited the Kashiko-dokoro, the main sanctuary in the Tokyo Imperial Palace where the Sun Goddess is said to be enshrined.
They took their places on the 6.5-metre (21-foot) Takamikura throne at the Matsu-no-Ma (Pine Hall), and the Emperor gave a speech which emphasized his role as the symbol of the State.
[36] A parade to celebrate Naruhito's enthronement as Emperor took place on 10 November at 3 pm local time (06:00 UTC) as tens of thousands of people gathered in the city centre of Tokyo waving the Japanese flag.
