Japan’s Emperor Akihito will abdicate in 2019 — the first emperor to step down in 200 years

Thomson Reuters TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Emperor Akihito plans to abdicate on April 30, 2019, in the first such abdication in about 200 years. The emperor will be 85 by then and has cited his age as a concern. Akihito’s elder son Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend the throne a […]