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The Latest Breaking News from Akihito

Japan relaxes royal succession law but women still can’t become emperors

New measures will also allow princesses to keep their royal status if they marry a commoner

The Independent UK

Japan changes imperial succession law but keeps ban on female emperor

Japan's parliament on Friday enacted changes to imperial succession rules, allowing male distant relatives to rejoin the imperial family and women to retain royal status after marrying commoners. The legislation, however, keeps the ban on female emperors despite opinion polls showing broad public support for allowing women to ascend the…

France 24

Japan's imperial family is diminishing. Plan for male-only succession could make it worse

A law set to pass Friday by Japan’s parliament could doom its 1,500-year-old hereditary institution by insisting that only men can be emperor, sparking worry about the shrinking, fast-aging imperial family

The Independent UK

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Japan's former emperor turns 92 as heart condition stabilizes after health concerns

Japan’s beloved former Emperor Akihito is marking his 92nd birthday as his heart condition stabilizes, palace officials say, following health concerns earlier this year

The Independent UK

Prince Hisahito: Japan holds lavish celebrations for first male royal to reach adulthood in 40 years

The prince is the youngest of the 16-member imperial family, which now features no children

The Independent UK

Prince Hisahito is the first male royal to reach adulthood in Japan in 40 years. He may be the last

The young prince is a symbol of the challenges facing the world's oldest monarchy

The Independent UK

20 People Who Were Part Of Royalty But Decided To Part Ways With Their Duties

These 20 royals said “no thanks” to tradition.

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Japan's former Emperor Akihito hospitalized to get new treatment for heart condition

Japan's 91-year-old former Emperor Akihito has been hospitalized to adjust his heart medication, palace officials say

The Independent UK

Emperor's visit to Okinawa reflects imperial family's close ties to the island. Here is why he cares

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his family have visited Okinawa to pray for the war dead ahead of the 80th anniversary marking the end of one of the harshest battles of World War II

The Independent UK

Japan's retired former emperor is to be hospitalized for heart tests, Japanese media say

Japan’s Emperor Emeritus Akihito will undergo heart tests at a hospital after an unspecified problem was detected during a routine checkup

The Independent UK

Japan's prince, the second in line to the throne, holds a debut news conference

Japan’s Prince Hisahito, the second in line to the throne, has held a debut news conference since he turned 18 last September

The Independent UK

Japan’s former emperor Akihito celebrates 91st birthday caring for wife recovering from broken leg

Emperor Akhihito concerned about extensive damage in Noto Peninsula

The Independent UK

Japan's former Emperor Akihito marks his 91st birthday

Japan’s beloved former Emperor Akihito marked his 91st birthday on Monday, as he continues to pursue his lifetime research into goby fish, care for his wife and pray for peace

The Independent UK

Japan's beloved former Empress Michiko marks her 90th birthday as she recovers from a broken leg

Japan’s beloved former Empress Michiko received greetings from her relatives and palace officials to celebrate her 90th birthday as she steadily recovers from a broken leg

The Independent UK

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The Conversation

Japan’s looming imperial crisis – why it’s time to open the succession to female heirs

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito has finally admitted that the future of the Chrysanthemum Throne is in peril. Speaking on the eve of his state visit to the UK in mid-June, Naruhito noted that the number of male heirs in the imperial family was shrinking and they were ageing.

Evening Standard

Meet emperor Naruhito and empress Masako: Japan's anglophile royal couple visit the UK

Emma Loffhagen takes a look at the island nation’s royal couple and their unlikely British connections

International Business Times

Japan's Royals: Tradition, Myths And Instagram

As Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako make the first Japanese state visit to Britain since 1998, here are some key things to know about the imperial family: - Sun goddess - Legend has it that Japan's royals, whose myth-filled history spans 2,600 years, are descended from the Shinto sun goddess…

The Independent UK

Abdication in our age: a look at royals who have retired in recent years

Queen Margrethe II will become Denmark’s first monarch to abdicate in nearly 900 years when she hands over the throne to her son, Crown Prince Frederik

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Reuters

Japanese Emperor Emeritus diagnosed with heart failure, condition improved

Japan's Emperor Emeritus Akihito, father of the current emperor, received a diagnosis of heart failure but his condition has improved under treatment, an official at the Imperial Household Agency (IHA) said on Tuesday.

Irish Mirror

Tragic story of world's loneliest princess who faces harrowing choice

Japan’s Princess Toshi is in a heartbreaking position

Daily Mirror

Tragic story of the world's loneliest princess - who faces a harrowing choice

Japan’s Princess Toshi cannot ascend to the throne and must decide whether to risk national scandal by marrying a commoner or become a chaste shrine maiden as she navigates the country’s conservative traditions

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