Emperor Akihito of Japan Plans to Abdicate¹ Throne, Broadcaster Says

日本天皇欲“生前退位”，200年来第一次

TOKYO — For the first time in nearly two centuries, an emperor of Japan has said that he will abdicate the throne before he dies.

东京——近两个世纪以来的第一次，有日本天皇决定在离世前退位。

According to NHK, the public broadcaster in Japan, Emperor Akihito, 82, who in 1989 succeeded his father, the wartime Emperor Hirohito, told close aides that he intended to pass the throne to his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 56, before he dies. No modern emperor has done so: The last emperor to abdicate was Emperor Kokaku, in 1817.

明仁天皇现年82岁。1989年，他继承战时的天皇——父亲裕仁天皇的皇位。根据NHK的报道，明仁天皇告诉身边的助手，他有意在离世前将皇位传给自己的儿子——现年56岁的皇太子德仁。这样的举动在现代可谓史无前例：上一位退位的天皇是于1817年退位的光格天皇(Emperor Kokaku)。

The emperor’s role is now entirely² ceremonial. Until the end of World War II, the Japanese public revered³ the emperor as a demigod, and he served as commander in chief of the army. After Hirohito surrendered at the end of World War II, the country’s U.S. occupiers stripped him of all political authority.

今天，天皇的职能完全是仪式性的。在“二战”结束之前，日本民众像对待次神一般崇敬天皇。同时，天皇担任军队的总指挥。裕仁天皇在“二战”末期投降之后，美国占领者剥夺了他所有的政治权力。

According to NHK, Akihito, who was treated for prostate cancer in 2003 and underwent heart surgery in 2012, plans to make a formal announcement shortly.

根据NHK的报道，在2003年和2012年分别接受前列腺癌治疗和心脏手术的明仁天皇，计划不久将正式宣布退位。

“It’s a tiring job,” said Robert Dujarric, director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo. “He’s getting old.”

“这份工作很累人，”天普大学东京校区当代亚洲研究所(Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo)的所长罗伯特·杜加里克(Robert Dujarric)说，“他年龄越来越大了。”

Akihito may be trying to avoid the drama of his own succession. His father was ill for many years before his death.

明仁天皇可能希望借此避免自己继承王位时的戏剧性。他的父亲去世前就已抱病多年。

“This emperor seems to want to make it easier and make it more matter of fact,” said Sheila A. Smith, senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

“天皇似乎希望让继承事务更简洁、更实事求是，”华盛顿的美国外交关系委员会(Council on Foreign Relations)资深日本事务研究员希拉·A·史密斯(Sheila A. Smith)说道。

After the NHK report, however, the Asahi Shimbun, a left-leaning newspaper, reported that Shinichiro Yamamoto, deputy director of the Imperial Household Agency, denied the abdication⁴ report, saying that the emperor had “no such intention.”

然而，在NHK的报道出来后，左倾报纸《朝日新闻》报道，宫内厅(Imperial Household Agency)次长山本信一郎(Shinichiro Yamamoto)否认了天皇要退位的报道，称他“没有这样的打算”。

A spokesman for the Imperial Household Agency could not immediately be reached for comment.

记者无法立即联系到宫内厅的发言人对此事置评。

The report of the planned abdication comes just three days after the Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and its allies won a commanding victory in parliamentary elections, capturing two-thirds of the seats in the upper house, the amount required to initiate⁵ a constitutional revision. Abe has long had an ambition to overturn the constitutional clause that calls for Japan’s complete renunciation of war.

退位报道出现在日本国会选举仅三天之后。在本次选举中，首相安倍晋三的自民党及其盟友赢得举足轻重的胜利，获参议院三分之二席位，达到启动宪法修订所需的议员数量。安倍一直以来都渴望推翻要求日本完全放弃战争的宪法条款。

Although the emperor has no official political authority, Naruhito could offer a counterpoint to Abe’s goals.

虽然天皇没有实权，但德仁继位可以提供一个对立于安倍目标的支点。