Cheers and screams filled the air in Tokyo on May 4 as new Japanese head of state Naruhito and his wife Masako made their first greetings to an ecstatic public three days after acceding to the throne following the first abdication in two centuries.
Naruhito’s father, Akihito, 85, abdicated on Tuesday in a simple ceremony, nearly three years after he first expressed fears that advancing age might make it difficult for him to perform his duties. It was the first abdication in 200 years.
