JAPAN HAS DISCUSSION ON EMPEROR'S ABDICATION|天皇擬生前退位 日內閣專家會議商討

Japan is in a quandary following Emperor Akihito's announcement in August that he wishes to abdicate the throne. With no clear laws supporting an ante-mortem transition, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet convened a meeting with experts to discuss possible solutions. According to Japanese newspaper Sankei Shinbum, the government is set to help the next emperor ascend the throne by November 2018. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was holding his first meeting to discuss the emperor's abdication while the emperor is still alive. ==SHINZO ABE, Japan Prime Minister== His Majesty the Emperor is 82 years old. In order to lessen his burden of official duties, what can we do? In the future we will seek advice from experts and scholars. This August, Japanese Emperor Akihito publicly announced his wish to abdicate from the throne. The official statistics had shown the Emperor Akihito's workloads were many more than the previous Showa Period. Last year, over 345 royal duties had been carried out by the emperor. ==MIKURIYA TAKASHI, University of Tokyo Honorary Professor== From the stance of government, we need to re-think what we can do? We should wait till all evaluations and analyses are done, and make our final efforts to make the decision a reality. Prime Minister Abe instructed the government to listen to citizens' voices, and have all issues and comments made available to the public as soon as possible. According to Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun, Japanese government plans to have the ceremonial rice-offering by the newly enthroned emperor in November of 2018. That means, the Crown Prince Naruhito will succeed the throne and the Heisei Period will be over. Before the end of this year, Prime Minister Abe will convene another five meetings with 20 scholars and experts, to review the royal institution and its history. TRANSLATED BY：ANTHONY LIN 日本首相安倍晉三，走入會議室就坐，展開第一次研討"天皇生前退位"的專家會議。 ==日本首相 安倍晉三== 基於陛下現在是82歲高齡 為了減輕公務負擔 我們能做些什麼 未來將請教各界專門知識學者意見 今年八月，日本明仁天皇公開表達生前退位的意願。官方統計，天皇夫婦的工作量，比昭和時代大幅增加，去年就超過345次。這次會議，主要研討減輕天皇負擔，與退位方式與適用範圍。與會成員包括日本經濟團體聯合會，名譽會長"今井敬"等6人。 ==東京大學名譽教授 御廚貴== 以政府立場 需再次思考能做些什麼 等整體的觀察跟分析都到位以後 將會朝最終的著力點前進 除了學者意見外，安倍指示，也得聽取國民意見，需要將現時碰上的議題跟論點，告知國民，盡速處理此事。 日媒產經新聞報導，政府打算在2018年11月，舉行新天皇登基的重要儀式"大嘗祭"，意味皇太子德仁將這時間前繼位，"平成"的年號將會在2018年結束。今年年底前，預計將會再召開5次專家會議，邀請20位專家，對皇室制度和歷史方面，進行意見詢問。 記者 陳詩童報導