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Japanese Emperor Akihito will step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne on April 30, 2019, the government announced Friday. He will be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito. The Imperial House Council made the decision Friday about the date of the abdication. Last year, the emperor said he was becoming too old and frail to carry out his duties. "When I consider that my fitness level is gradually declining, I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the state with my whole being, as I have done until now," Akihito said in 2016 in a rare televised address to the nation. In recent years, the emperor has had heart surgery, bronchitis and has been treated for prostate cancer. Legislation was passed earlier this year allowing for the emperor's abdication, but the timing of the move was left to the Imperial House Council, chaired by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Akihito will be the first emperor to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne in 200 years. 日本政府星期五宣布，天皇明仁将于2019年4月30号退位。 天皇的长子德仁皇太子将继位。 日本宫内厅星期五就天皇明仁的退位时间做出了决定。 明仁天皇去年说，他年事已高，身体欠佳，难以履行天皇的职责。他2016年在一次罕见的全国实况转播讲话中说：”考虑到我的健康情况每况愈下，我担心我可能很难向以前我所做的那样全面完成国家象征所要求的职责。” | 
