Japan´s next emperor is a modern, multilingual environmentalist
(WorldNews Japan)

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Constantine Nomikos Vaporis, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (THE CONVERSATION) For the first time in 217 years, a Japanese emperor will cede his place on the imperial throne. On April 30, Japan´s ailing 85-year-old Emperor Akihito will abdicate and be replaced the following day by his 59-year-old son, Crown Prince Naruhito. Naruhito and his wife, Crown Princess Masako, are a modern couple. Both have studied overseas - he at Oxford University, she in Russia, England and the United States. Born after World War II, Naruhito will be the first Japanese emperor not shaped by...