Emperor Akihito, who on Tuesday will become the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in about two centuries, has devoted the 30 years of his reign to defining his role as "symbol of the state," a new status without political power created under the postwar Japanese Constitution.The 85-year-old emperor's visits to console those affected by natural disasters and survivors of World War II as well as his years of warm personal exchanges with marginalized people, such as patients of leprosy and other diseases marked a major shift from precedents set by his predecessors.His personal interactions we…READ FULL ARTICLE
