Japan's new Emperor Naruhito ascends Chrysanthemum Throne
Tokyo: Japan's new Emperor Naruhito formally ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his father abdicated from the world's oldest monarchy and ushered in a new imperial era.
Naruhito officially became emperor at the stroke of midnight but the process was formalised with a 10-minute ritual on Wednesday morning that was off-limits to female royals -- even his wife Masako.
It took place on the first day of the new imperial era of Reiwa, meaning "beautiful harmony", which will last throughout Naruhito's reign. At a solemn ceremony in the Imperial Palace's Room of Pine, the 59-year-old was presented with the items his father Akihito relinquished a day earlier: sacred imperial treasures of a sword and a jewel, as well as the seal of state and his personal imperial seal.
The sole woman allowed to attend was the only female member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet. Shortly afterwards, joined by Masako and other royals, Naruhito was to address the nation for the first time as its 126th emperor.
He will also make a public appearance on Saturday when he will again speak to the people of Japan. But the pomp and ceremony will wait until October 22 when he and Masako will appear in elaborate traditional robes for a ceremony in the palace before parading through the streets of the capital to be congratulated by a host of world leaders and royals.
Naruhito will greet his first foreign head of state as emperor later this month, when US President Donald Trump visits Japan to meet the new monarch.
The Oxford-educated Naruhito faces the delicate balancing act of continuing his father's legacy of bringing the monarchy closer to the people while upholding the centuries-old traditions of the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Like his popular father Akihito, he has warned of the need to remember World War II "correctly," without downplaying Japan's early 20th-century militarism.
He has also spoken of the need to modernise the royal family, and vowed when he married Masako -- who left behind a promising diplomatic career -- to protect her "at any cost".
She has struggled however to adjust to palace life, including being subjected to enormous pressure to produce a male heir, and has suffered stress-induced "adjustment disorder" for much of their marriage.
The couple have one child, a 17-year-old daughter called Aiko, who cannot inherit the throne because she is female. In a statement released on her birthday in December, Masako pledged to do her best despite feeling "insecure" about becoming empress.
In the candid statement, she said she was recovering and could "perform more duties than before", crediting the "powerful support" of the public.
Naruhito is ascending the throne in a very different Japan to the one his father took over when he became emperor in 1989. Then, Japan ruled the world economically, its technology was the envy of every industrialised nation, and its stock market was at highs unlikely to be matched again.
At the height of the bubble, Japanese investors were snapping up paintings like Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" and US landmarks including the Rockefeller Center in Manhattan as "money was dripping off trees" -- in the words of one former banker.
But following a "lost decade" after the bubble burst, Japan is still locked in a battle against deflation and sluggish growth while its population ages rapidly and many rural areas suffer from depopulation as young people move to cities.
Akihito's abdication, the first in 200 years, has resulted in an unprecedented 10-day public holiday for the famously hard-working Japanese, with many taking advantage of the break to travel.
But despite the holiday exodus, and steady driving rain on Tuesday night, crowds still gathered at Tokyo's famous Shibuya crossing at the clock struck midnight to welcome the Reiwa era.
"The emperor was a good person... He was the symbol of Japan," said Rika Yamamoto, a 24-year-old company employee sheltering under an umbrella on the crossing.
"I hope the new emperor will carry on the kindness the old emperor had." Political parties across the spectrum also welcomed the new emperor -- including the Communist Party, whose official platform considers the monarchy incompatible with democracy.
The party said it "celebrates the new emperor's accession" and that it expected Naruhito to be a "symbol of the people"
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Decision on next Maharashtra CM to be taken 'in a day or two', says Shinde
New Delhi (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said he had "good and positive" discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda on the issue of government formation in the state.
Speaking to reporters here before leaving for Mumbai, Shinde said the decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be taken "in a day or two" in another meeting of the Mahayuti coalition in the state capital.
Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, met Shah and Nadda late Thursday to thrash out a power-sharing pact for the next government in Maharashtra after the BJP-led coalition registered a thumping majority in the Assembly elections.
"We will take a decision (on Maharashtra CM) in a day or two. We have held discussions, and the discussions will continue. You will get to know when we take a final decision," the outgoing chief minister said.
Shinde said that he would not be an obstacle in the government formation in the state and abide by the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah.
"This 'ladka bhau' (beloved brother) designation is higher than anything else for me," he said.
Shinde said the meeting with Shah and Nadda was "good and positive".
"We all discussed the formation of government. There is good coordination between the allies, we are all very positive and we will honour the clear-cut mandate given to us by the people. We will form the government soon," he said.
"The meeting was good and positive. This was the first meeting. There will be another meeting of the Mahayuti in Mumbai," Shinde told reporters early Friday.
The Shiv Sena leader said the people of Maharashtra have re-elected them with a thumping majority and respecting the mandate is the topmost priority, not "running after posts".
Recovering from its Lok Sabha elections losses, the BJP bagged 132 Assembly seats, the highest among all constituents of the Mahayuti alliance. Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP also performed well. Sena won 57 while NCP bagged 41 seats.
The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a setback with the grand old party registering one of its worst performances in the Assembly polls as it won only 16 seats. Sharad Pawar's NCP(SP) won just 10 seats, whereas Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT) won 20 seats.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections were held on November 20, and the results were declared on November 23.
