Ailing Japanese King says he might abdicate

In this photo taken Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016 and provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan on Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, Japan’s Emperor Akihito reads a message for recording at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Akihito expressed concern about fulfilling his duties as he ages in an address to the public in a 10-minute recorded speech broadcast on national television Monday that was remarkable for its rarity and its hinted possibility that he may want to abdicate in a few years. (Imperial Household Agency of Japan via AP)

Lee Han-soo, Park Si-soo – The Korea Times

Japanese King Akihito, 82, says he wants to step down due to his faltering health.

“I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the state with my whole being as I have done until now,”he said in a rare video address to the public on August 8

He did not say exactly when he would abdicate.

Akihito has been a symbolic ruler for 27 years and his abdication would be unprecedented in modern Japan.

His son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 56, is next in line.

After the statement, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government would take “seriously” the king’s hint that he might abdicate.

According to state-run broadcaster NHK, Akihito had heart surgery in 2012 and is now being treated for prostate cancer.