On the day of April 30, Emperor Akihito's abdication, at the ceremony of the three halls in the palace, wearing an important ceremony traditional costume Huang Yan dyeing robe.(Reuters)
Japan's conservative power will continue to constitute challenges, but from the present situation, there are sufficient reasons to believe that the new Emperor inherits the genes of his father's thoughts and will continue to become an important symbol of Japanese society and national integration.
On May 1, the Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicated, the era of Pingcheng ended, and the times began.The Japanese Constitution stipulates that the emperor does not have political power, but is a symbol of the constitutional monarchy; the political function of the Emperor of Japan often becomes sensitive because of the powerful materials of the politicians when it comes to war.
However, the hidden role of the emperor in Japan's political and social life is quite large. The Japanese economy entered the so -called lost 20 years after the 1990s. Politically, the Prime Minister of the Malaysia -like Prime Minister has gone through a horse -like prime minister in the 1990s and the 2010s.In 2011, a large earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant accidents were also stabilized as a whole.In the current situation of major Western countries facing the severe challenges of political polarization and populism, Japan is one of the few countries that maintain relatively calm.Behind these can be said to have the implicit compressor effect of the emperor.
As a way of political governance, the initial political legitimacy of the monarchy originated from deity, and the statement of monarchy is evident.Therefore, most of the monarchy in history advocates orthodox, blood, purification, and grades, so it has natural exclusiveness and rejection of diversification, and lack of tolerance.
Similarly, in the modern history of Japan, the emperor, as the core symbol of the national and empire construction process, has traditionally deified political legitimacy. Civilians cannot approach the emperor.After the end of World War II, the Peace Constitution changed the emperor from God to an adult, and the legitimacy of the Emperor also faced a challenge of transformation.Emperor Akihito has been committed to the legitimacy transformation of the Japanese constitutional monarchy since he was young.
First of all, Emperor Akihito has been committed to shrinking the distance between the emperor and the people.Emperor Akihito married Michiko, who was born in a civilian. The queen made a bento for the child and changed the feet to change the traditional image of the royal family in the past.In fact, the Emperor is also a beneficiary of freedom in the new constitution, because he can also think as a person.In April 2012, the emperor proposed the simplification of cremation and funeral, the scale of the mausoleum was reduced, and the abdication was proposed in 2016. These words and deeds were inherent.
Second, Emperor Akihito and Queen showed the moral image of the weak and loved the people.Emperor Mingren has long insisted on visiting the disaster -stricken areas, nursing homes, kindergartens, and sickness facilities.They often kneel down to talk to the respondents' heart -promoting talks. The long -term attention and comfort of the weak, coupled with the emperor and his wife for decades, have become the perfect moral image of Japanese citizens.
Third, the more Emperor Akihito shows the tendency of liberalism, the higher the popularity among the people.In August 2016, the Emperor's speech showed the willingness and reasons of abdication, saying that if the emperor's health occurred, it might cause social stagnation and have various impacts on the people.At that time, the conservatives had a lot of opinions on abdication. However, the emperor's speech, on the one hand, triggers the understanding of the elderly emperor, on the other hand, it also made the public feel the emperor's sense of responsibility.Public opinion surveys showed that 89%agreed with the emperor's abdication, and 76%answered the consent of the emperor's abdication and established a long -term system. 58%supported the possibility of the Emperor of the Emperor of the Emperor.
Establish a new relationship with the national
Although the post -war Peace Constitution has lost the absolute monarchy power, the Emperor Akihito successfully transformed the relationship between the royal family and the people from the original vertical to horizontal transition, forming a new new newly respectful and loving faith.relation.This soft power has become the fundamental source of the emperor's new authority and influence.
Emperor Akihito relied on his personal ability and charm. It should be said that the symbolic role of the emperor was well completed. Although he did not do politics, he achieved the role of political stabilizers in a unique way.
On the one hand, the Emperor of Japan has achieved procedural flaws in maintaining traditions, making conservative forces impeccable.As a symbol of Japanese tradition, the emperor needs to attend various symbolic activities including Shinto Palace. The emperor and the queen can be said to complete each activity very seriously and carefully.On the other hand, Emperor Akihito also demonstrated energy, and released important signals to Japanese society and citizens through its special way.
From the perspective of domestic politics, the Emperor played a certain degree of integration to a certain extent when facing polarization and division of political society.Although we cannot excessively enlarge the role of the emperor's stabilizer, compared with many other developed countries, Japan's social order stability should be relatively high.The populist tendencies of major European and American countries have begun to doubt the existing representative democratic system in essence, which means that the legitimacy of the election system itself is not enough.This legitimate supply of deficit will cause populist politicians to have soil.
The monarchy of Japan before the war was used as a tool for militarism. After the war, especially the monarchy of the Pingcheng Times, it became a security valve for the stable domestic social structure in Japan.The role.In August 2016, the timing of the emperor's announcement was exactly when Abe's cabinet won two -thirds of the majority of Congress, and it was time to launch a threshold for constitutional amendments to the constitution.His abdication transferred the agenda of the discussion of constitutional amendments to the future and relevant regulations of the royal family, which indirectly played a role in protecting the constitution.
From the perspective of diplomacy, the emperor is also only a symbolic no -power monarch, but he continuously releases the signal in a special delicate way, such as the annual war end of the war, the birthday speech, and the comfort travel travel around the world.The confession of the war and the firm belief in Japan's adherence to peaceful countries.To a large extent, this has played a period of dilution of domestic political instability. Extreme conservative politicians may provoke the restlessness of public opinion and remind people to be calm.It plays a certain role in dislocation of Japan.
He visited China in 1992, visited Saipan in 2005, visited Palau in 2015, and visited the Philippines in 2016, all showing his willingness to confess to war.These have a certain deterrent for Japan's non -conservative forces on historical issues.
If the modern constitutional monarchy reflected in the Emperor Akihito Japan plays a complementary role with the Japanese election democratic politics, this is the personal factors of the Emperor itself, or the Japanese emperor's production as the mechanism itself, and has transformed into it into it.With this inherent mechanism?It is a subject that needs to observe and answer the times.Japan's conservative power will continue to constitute a challenge, but from the current situation, there are sufficient reasons to believe that the new Emperor inherits the genes of his father's thoughts and will continue to become an important symbol of Japanese society and national integration.
The author is an associate professor at the National Niigata University in Japan, a senior researcher at the regional and global institute of Global Governance of Beijing Foreign Studies University
