This week’s featured article

KYODO

In a move that will create a 10-day Golden Week holiday period in 2019, the government plans to designate May 1, when the new Emperor is planned to ascend the throne, as a one-off holiday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday.

Abe also said that a ritual marking the promotion of Prince Akishino, the younger son of current Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, to first in line to the throne will be held on April 19, 2020, about a year after his father becomes the first living Japanese monarch to step down in about 200 years.

“We will thoroughly prepare for (a series of rites) so that all the people can celebrate,” Abe told the first meeting of a government committee responsible for working out the details of ceremonies for the Imperial succession.

Japanese law stipulates that a working day sandwiched between national holidays automatically becomes a public holiday.

In 2019, April 29 and May 3 to 6 are already assigned as national and public holidays. If May 1 is designated as a national holiday, April 30 and May 2 will become public holidays, resulting in a rare 10-day vacation period beginning April 27, which falls on a Saturday.

The prime minister said the government is also considering setting Oct. 22 next year as a one-off national holiday, as an enthronement ceremony will be held that day for the new Emperor. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a news conference that the government will submit a bill, necessary to designate the holidays, to the Diet “as soon as possible,” possibly to an extraordinary session to be convened later this month. Emperor Akihito, 84, is set to step down on April 30, and the Emperor’s elder son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 58, is scheduled to accede to the throne the following day.

The Rikkoshi no Rei ritual for Prince Akishino, who is now 52 years old, will be held for the first time to notify the public that the prince has become kōshi, the title created for the younger brother, rather than the son, of a new emperor who becomes first in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

The Imperial House Law stipulates only males can ascend the throne in the world’s oldest hereditary monarchy.

First published in The Japan Times on Oct. 13.

Warm up

One-minute chat about public holidays.

Game

Collect words related to the Emperor, e.g., family, palace, imperial.

New words

1) throne: the power or rank of a king, etc., e.g., “Charles is next in line to the throne.”

2) ritual: a set form or system of rites, e.g., “Rituals are performed at temples and shrines.”

3) monarch: the head of a state, e.g., “A monarch has a duty to his nation.”

Guess the headline

Government to designate _ _ _ _, day of new Emperor’s accession, as public holiday, creating 10-day Golden Week in 2019

Questions

1) What will the Emperor do next year?

2) Why may Japan have 10-day vacation the next year, even though there will be working days in between the national holidays?

3) What is the position of kōshi?

Let’s discuss the article

1) What do you think about the new Emperor’s accession?

2) What would you like to do if there’s a 10-day holiday next year?

3) What do you expect from the new era and the new Emperor?

Reference

新しい天皇による時代への転換がこれまでにない形で執り行われようとしている中、その計画が少しずつ公となってきました。

皇室での儀式はほとんどの国民にとって身近なことではありませんが、それに伴う10日間にも及ぶ連休は国民の生活にも少なからず影響を与えそうです。来年来るべき大型連休と、その後に待つ新しい時代の日本を私たちはどのように過ごすでしょうか。朝の会に参加し皆さんで話し合ってみましょう。