Japan's Emperor Akihito is expected to abdicate on April 30, 2019, marking the nation's first succession from a living emperor in about 200 years, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday following a special panel meeting on key imperial issues.Abe said the 10-member Imperial House Council involving lawmakers, the judiciary and imperial family members decided on the octogenarian emperor's abdication date and succession to the throne by his elder son Crown Prince Naruhito on May 1, 2019. Abe's Cabinet is expected to formally approve on Dec. 8 a government ordinance setting the succession schedu…READ FULL ARTICLE
