This can be shown from the survey conducted among 3000 people aged 18 or older in Japan that resulted in 68% saying Imperial Household Law should be revised to allow abdication of the future emperors, 25% proposing that abdication should be given only on one-off basis, and the rest stating disagreement towards abdication. This could be translated as 93% of general public saying yes for allowing abdication.
Recently, Shinzo Abe's cabinet had approved a one-off abdication bill that would allow Emperor Akihito to retire, but it would not be applicable to the next sitting emperors. The bill had been sent to the parliament to undergo further legislative process. This would lead us to the conclusion that Japan is currently adjusting the regulation of abdication to become slightly more flexible.Â
Therefore, reflecting from the history that abdication used to be common in Medieval Japan, the political aspect of Japan that allows changes in legislation, and the social condition that supports abdication, it can be inferred that it remains possible for the current emperor of Japan to break the wall of conformity that has been standing for two centuries long. (Novia Meizura)
References:
Magil, Frank N. The 20th Century Go-N: Dictionary of World Biography.Routledge: New York. 2014.
Parish, H. Caroll. "The Role of The Imperial Family in Modern Japan." Sovial Sciencevol.
49 no. 2, 1974.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41959794
"Japan Government OKs Bill to Allow 1st Abdication of Emperor in 200 Years." Kyodo News.May 19 2017.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2017/05/0a75f8c33d99-update3-japan-govt-oks-bill-to-allow-1st-abdication-of-emperor-in-200-yrs.html
"Japan Cabinet Approves Emperor Akihito Abdication Bill." Al Jazeera. May 19 2017. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/japan-cabinet-approves-emperor-akihito-
