Japanese emperor Akihito will finish in 2019

The Japanese emperor Akihito (83) will most likely return to the end of March 2019.

The emperor said last year that his age and health made it difficult for him to fulfill his duties. Akihito has undergone a cardiac surgery and has been treated for prostate cancer.

It becomes the first abdication of a Japanese emperor in two hundred years. Normally, crown prince Naruhito (57) will follow him on April 1, 2019. Akihito has been on the throne for exactly 30 years.