Pursuant to his constitutional role as a national symbol, and in accordance with rulings by the Supreme Court of Japan, the emperor is personally immune from prosecution.

For example, the emperor is the head of the Japanese honors system, conferring orders, decorations, medals, and awards in the name of the state and on behalf of its people in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet.

In turn, these constitutional monarchs are bound by either convention or statute to exercise their prerogatives on the advice of ministers responsible to the duly elected parliament.

[31] In these respects, the emperor personifies the democratic state, sanctions legitimate authority, ensures the legality of his official acts, and guarantees the execution of the public will.

[32][33] These functions, when considered altogether, serve two purposes: foremost, to uphold the continuity and stability of Japanese democracy; and second, to foster a shared national identity and cultural heritage that transcends party politics.

In sports, the Emperor's Cup (天皇賜杯, Tennō shihai) is given to a number of competitions such as football, judo, volleyball, and the top division yūshō winner of a sumo tournament.

However, since the Meiji period, the Imperial Household Agency has refused to open the kofun to the public or to archaeologists, citing their desire not to disturb the spirits of the past emperors.

[43] The title of emperor was borrowed from China, being derived from Chinese characters, and was retroactively applied to the legendary Japanese rulers who reigned before the 7th–8th centuries AD.

During the major part of 1192 to 1867, political sovereignty of the state was exercised by the shōguns or their shikken regents (1203–1333), whose authority was conferred by Imperial warrant.

[47][48] Consequently, Japan was forcibly opened to foreign trade and the shogunate proved incapable of hindering the "barbarian" interlopers; Emperor Kōmei thus began to assert himself politically.

[citation needed] On 9 November 1867, the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu formally stepped down to restore Emperor Meiji to nominal full power.

[51] The emperor of Japan became an active ruler with considerable political power over foreign policy and diplomacy which was shared with an elected Imperial Diet.

[53] The role of the emperor as head of the State Shinto religion was exploited during the war, creating an Imperial cult that led to kamikaze bombers and other manifestations of fanaticism.

This in turn led to the requirement in the Potsdam Declaration for the elimination "for all time of the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest".

[58] According to journalist Makoto Inoue of The Nikkei, Emperor Emeritus Akihito wanted to be closer to the people, rather than be treated like a god or robot.

[62] It was drawn up under the Allied occupation that followed World War II and changed Japan's previous Prussian-style Meiji Constitution that granted the emperor theoretically unlimited powers.

Normally, out of respect, euphemistic expressions like kinri (禁裏), kinchū (禁中), or shujō (主上), which refer to the emperor's palace or supreme status, were used instead.

[76] Other titles that were recorded to be in use were kō (皇), tei (帝), ō (王), all meaning "prince" or "emperor", and tenshi (天子), or "son of heaven".

In this document, Empress Suiko introduced herself to Emperor Yang of Sui as 日出處天子 (Hi izurutokoro no tenshi) meaning "Heavenly son of the land where the sun rises".

[86][87] Throughout history, Japanese emperors and noblemen appointed a spouse to the position of chief wife, rather than just keeping a harem or an assortment of female attendants.

Daughters of other families remained concubines until Emperor Shōmu (701–706)—in what was specifically reported as the first elevation of its kind—elevated his Fujiwara consort Empress Kōmyō to chief wife.

After a couple of centuries, emperors could no longer take anyone from outside such families as a primary wife, no matter what the potential expediency of such a marriage and the power or wealth offered by such a match.

The three sacred treasures are:[89] During the succession rite (senso, 践祚), possessing the jewel Yasakani no Magatama, the sword Kusanagi and the mirror Yata no Kagami are a testament of the legitimate serving emperor.

Being a child was apparently a fine property, to better endure tedious duties and to tolerate subjugation to political power-brokers, as well as sometimes to cloak the truly powerful members of the imperial dynasty.

The government of Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru hastily cobbled together the legislation to bring the Imperial Household in compliance with the American-written Constitution of Japan that went into effect in May 1947.

Following the birth of Princess Aiko on 1 December 2001, there was public debate about amending the current Imperial Household Law to allow women to succeed to the throne.

In January 2005, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed a special panel composed of judges, university professors, and civil servants to study changes to the Imperial Household Law and to make recommendations to the government.

The panel dealing with the succession issue recommended on 25 October 2005, amending the law to allow females of the male line of imperial descent to ascend the Japanese throne.

On January 20, 2006, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi devoted part of his annual keynote speech to the controversy, pledging to submit a bill allowing women to ascend the throne to ensure that the succession continues in the future in a stable manner.

[99] As a result of the poor economic conditions in Japan, 117,059.07 hectares (289,259.25 acres) of crown lands (about 26% of the total landholdings) were either sold or transferred to government and private-sector interests in 1921.