Naruhito’s enthronement puts Japanese emperor’s role in focus

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shouts a banzai cheer for Emperor Naruhito during the enthronement ceremony the emperor officially proclaimed his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday, October 22, 2019. (AFP).
Updated 22 October 2019
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Naruhito’s enthronement puts Japanese emperor’s role in focus

  • Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement comes nearly six months after his ascent to the Chrysanthemum Throne
  • Naruhito becomes Japan’s 126th emperor in a line said to stretch back more than 2,600 years

TOKYO: With his formal enthronement as Japan’s 126th emperor, in a line said to stretch back more than 2,600 years, Naruhito takes on a role that has changed almost beyond recognition from its mythological origins.

Recent decades have seen the Japanese emperor’s role recast in new ways. Naruhito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1 this year, has already signaled that he will continue reshaping the emperor’s role.

He has called for “new royal duties” to fit modern times, and said he hopes — like his father, current Emperor Emeritus Akihito — to be “close to the people.”

Tradition holds that Japanese emperors are descended from legendary sun goddess Amaterasu, who imparted the “three treasures” of a mirror, sword and jewels that are a key part of the imperial regalia.

In keeping with their mythological status, the “treasures” are kept from public sight, and were expected to remain hidden even when handed to Naruhito during the enthronement ceremony on Oct. 22.

In the early years of Japan’s imperial history, emperors were military commanders from powerful families who controlled wealthy settlements.

The role of the emperor in governing, however, has varied. Some, like Emperor Tenmu in the seventh century, wielded enormous power.

Dubbed “king of kings” by imperial enthusiasts, Tenmu shaped the political system based on ancient law and cemented imperial power.

But many other emperors served as little more than rubber stamps for samurai warriors or ambitious officials from leading families.

Down the ages, emperors have played a key role in performing the rites of Japan’s native Shinto religion, which venerates deities found in nature.

In the late 1860s, reformists brought in an era of rapid change that turned Japan from a rural backwater into a world power.

Compared to the titular heads of state that had come before, the new Emperor Meiji — great-grandfather of Akihito — wielded significant power.

Defined as “sacred and inviolable,” the emperor was now a father figure to be served and obeyed by his family: The state.

That ideological framework was used by nationalists in the military and government to lead the country into conflict during World War II.

When Akihito was born in 1933, the role he was expected to inherit came with full sovereign powers, including dissolving Parliament, issuing decrees and commanding the armed forces.

All that ended with Japan’s defeat in World War II. Akihito, then the crown prince, listened in tears on Aug. 15, 1945, as his father, wartime Emperor Hirohito, made an unprecedented radio address to announce the shock loss.

The fate of the imperial household hung in the balance, with some in favor of dissolving the monarchy because of its symbolic war role.

But US Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who led the post-war occupation of Japan, opted to preserve the dynasty while greatly curbing its power, effectively turning the emperor into a figurehead.

After World War II, an imperial rescript clarified that the emperor should not be regarded as divine, but performing prayers for a successful harvest and national peace is still considered one of his key responsibilities.

Akihito embraced the revised role when he took the throne in 1989, and focused on remolding the monarchy for a democratic age.

On top of religious and formal duties such as attending ceremonies and receiving foreign guests, he advocated for peace.

Akihito also rejected nationalism, expressed “deep remorse” over Japan’s past, and called for history to be remembered rather than revised.

As emperor, he stepped beyond his religious remit to offer not just prayers, but also comfort to survivors of Japan’s natural disasters.

He stunned the nation in 1991 when he rolled up his sleeves and took off his shoes in a shelter to kneel before survivors of a volcanic eruption.

His more modern approach was once seen as risky, said Yuji Otabe, history professor at Shizuoka University of Welfare.

“It was a sort of gamble,” Otabe said. “Such an act would have been impossible in the past because the emperor was regarded as god.”

But the changes helped cement Akihito’s popularity, with the vast majority of Japanese saying they have “positive feelings” or “respect” for him.

“In one era emperors were like popes, and in another they were like czars. Now the emperor’s role can be said to be similar to kings,” said Asao Kure, associate professor at Kyoto Sangyo University. “The roles of the emperor have mirrored each era of the country.”

Akihito said defining his position as emperor had been an “endless” process. On April 30 this year, he bequeathed that process to Naruhito when he abdicated, becoming the first Japanese emperor to do so since 1817.


Trump pauses tariffs on most nations for 90 days, raises taxes on Chinese imports

Updated 22 sec ago
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Trump pauses tariffs on most nations for 90 days, raises taxes on Chinese imports

WASHINGTON: Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125 percent.
It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the US and most of the world to one between the US and China.
Global markets surged on the development, but the precise details of Trump’s plans to ease tariffs on non-China trade partners were not immediately clear.

Pressure builds on Afghans fearing arrest in Pakistan

Afghan refugees sit on a loaden vehicle at a holding centre ahead of their departure for Afghanistan.
Updated 09 April 2025
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Pressure builds on Afghans fearing arrest in Pakistan

  • According to the UN refugee agency, more than 24,665 Afghans have left Pakistan since April 1, 10,741 of whom were deported

KARACHI: Convoys of Afghans pressured to leave Pakistan are driving to the border, fearing the “humiliation” of arrest, as the government’s crackdown on migrants sees widespread public support.
Islamabad wants to deport 800,000 Afghans after canceling their residence permits — the second phase of a deportation program which has already pushed out around 800,000 undocumented Afghans since 2023.
According to the UN refugee agency, more than 24,665 Afghans have left Pakistan since April 1, 10,741 of whom were deported.
“People say the police will come and carry out raids. That is the fear. Everyone is worried about that,” Rahmat Ullah, an Afghan migrant in the megacity Karachi told AFP.
“For a man with a family, nothing is worse than seeing the police take his women from his home. Can anything be more humiliating than this? It would be better if they just killed us instead,” added Nizam Gull, as he backed his belongings and prepared to return to Afghanistan.
Abdul Shah Bukhari, a community leader in one of the largest informal Afghan settlements in the coastal city, has watched multiple buses leave daily for the Afghan border, about 700 kilometers away.
The maze of makeshift homes has grown over decades with the arrival of families fleeing successive wars in Afghanistan. But now, he said “people are leaving voluntarily.”
“What is the need to cause distress or harassment?” said Bukhari.
Ghulam Hazrat, a truck driver, said he reached the Chaman border crossing with Afghanistan after days of police harassment in Karachi.
“We had to leave behind our home. We were being harassed every day.”
In Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the Afghan border, police climb mosque minarets to order Afghans to leave: “The stay of Afghan nationals in Pakistan has expired. They are requested to return to Afghanistan voluntarily.”
Police warnings are not only aimed at Afghans, but also at Pakistani landlords.
“Two police officers came to my house on Sunday and told me that if there are any Afghan nationals living here they should be evicted,” Farhan Ahmad told AFP.
Human Rights Watch has slammed “abusive tactics” used to pressure Afghans to return to their country, “where they risk persecution by the Taliban and face dire economic conditions.”
In September 2023, hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghans poured across the border into Afghanistan in the days leading up to a deadline to leave, after weeks of police raids and the demolition of homes.
After decades of hosting millions of Afghan refugees, there is widespread support among the Pakistani public for the deportations.
“They eat here, live here, but are against us. Terrorism is coming from there (Afghanistan), and they should leave; that is their country. We did a lot for them,” Pervaiz Akhtar, a university teacher, told AFP at a market in the capital Islamabad.
“Come with a valid visa, and then come and do business with us,” said Muhammad Shafiq, a 55-year-old businessman.
His views echo the Pakistani government, which for months has blamed rising violence in the border regions on “Afghan-backed perpetrators” and argued that the country can no longer support such a large migrant population.
However, analysts have said the deportation drive is political.
Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have soured since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
“The timing and manner of their deportation indicates it is part of Pakistan’s policy of mounting pressure on the Taliban,” Maleeha Lodhi, the former permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN told AFP.
“This should have been done in a humane, voluntary and gradual way.”


Beijing rejects Ukraine claim ‘many’ Chinese fighting for Russia

Updated 09 April 2025
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Beijing rejects Ukraine claim ‘many’ Chinese fighting for Russia

  • Chinese foreign ministry said it was 'absolutely groundless' to suggest many Chinese citizens were fighting in Ukraine
  • Beijing was verifying relevant information with Kyiv while Moscow declined to comment on the matter

KYIV: China on Wednesday rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that many Chinese citizens were fighting for Russia, calling it “absolutely groundless.”
Zelensky said Tuesday that Kyiv had captured two Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian forces, and that there was evidence “many more Chinese citizens” were fighting with Moscow.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a press conference it was “absolutely groundless” to suggest many Chinese citizens were fighting in Ukraine.
“The Chinese government has always asked its citizens to stay away from areas of armed conflict (and) avoid involvement in armed conflicts in any form,” he said.
He added that Beijing was verifying relevant information with Kyiv.
The Kremlin declined to comment on the matter.
China presents itself as a neutral party in the conflict and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.
But it is a close political and economic partner of Russia, and NATO members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of Moscow’s offensive, which it has never condemned.
“The Chinese side’s position on the issue of the Ukraine crisis is clear and unequivocal, and has won widespread approval from the international community,” Lin said.
“The Ukrainian side should correctly view China’s efforts and constructive role in pushing for a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis.”
Zelensky told reporters on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops had captured the two Chinese citizens fighting with Russian forces in the Donetsk region.
The media outlet Ukrainska Pravda, citing the Ukrainian army, reported that one of the captives had paid $3,480 to an intermediary in China to join the Russian army because he wanted to receive Russian citizenship.
The captive, who is now cooperating with the Ukrainian authorities, also said he was trained in the Russian-occupied Lugansk region as part of a group of Chinese nationals, some of whom had legal issues back home, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Kyiv released a video of one of the alleged Chinese prisoners showing a man wearing military fatigues with his hands bound.
He mimicked sounds from combat and uttered several words in Mandarin during an apparent interview with a Ukrainian official not pictured.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP they were captured “a few days ago,” adding that there might be more of them.
The official said the prisoners were likely Chinese citizens who were enticed into signing a contract with the Russian army, rather than being sent by Beijing.


India says PM Modi invited for Russia’s Victory Day parade

Indian PM Narendra Modi has been invited to attend Russia’s annual Victory Day parade in Moscow. (File/AFP)
Updated 09 April 2025
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India says PM Modi invited for Russia’s Victory Day parade

  • Historically close to Russia, India has resisted Western pressure to distance itself from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine
  • Russia sells India critical military hardware, and has also increasingly emerged as a key energy supplier

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to attend Russia’s annual Victory Day parade in Moscow, India’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, without confirming the premier’s attendance.
Russia has promised to hold its biggest World War II commemorations “in history” to mark 80 years since the Soviet Union and allied powers defeated Nazi Germany.
The annual Victory Day celebration on May 9 has emerged as Russia’s most important public holiday, one marked with a massive parade of military equipment and soldiers through the Red Square, and culminating in an address from President Vladimir Putin.
Historically close to Russia, India has resisted Western pressure to distance itself from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia sells India critical military hardware, and has also increasingly emerged as a key energy supplier as New Delhi seeks a pipeline of cheap imports to fuel its economic expansion.
“Our prime minister has received an invitation for participation in the Victory Day celebrations,” foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi.
“We will be announcing our participation in victory day celebrations at the appropriate time.”
Modi visited Russia last October for a multilateral summit and Putin is expected to arrive in India for a bilateral later this year.


Never take peace for granted, King Charles tells Italy parliament

Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Queen Camilla arrive to attend a joint session at the Italian Parliament.
Updated 09 April 2025
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Never take peace for granted, King Charles tells Italy parliament

  • “Britain and Italy stand today united in defense of the democratic values we share,” King Charles said
  • He became the first ever British monarch to address a joint session of Italy’s parliament

ROME: King Charles III warned Wednesday that peace can never be taken for granted and hailed Italy for standing by Ukraine, as he made a historic address to parliament in Rome.
“Peace is never to be taken, never to be taken for granted,” the 76-year-old monarch said during his third day of a state visit to Italy with his wife, Queen Camilla.
“Britain and Italy stand today united in defense of the democratic values we share.
“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter.”
He noted the defense ties between Italy and the UK, through NATO and a project to develop a new fighter jet with Japan.
Speaking in English with some Italian, Charles became the first ever British monarch to address a joint session of Italy’s parliament.
The king also addressed an issue close to his heart, the environment.
“Just as we stand together in defense of our values, so too we stand together in defense of our planet,” he said.
“From the droughts in Sicily to the floods in Somerset, both our countries are already seeing the ever more damaging effects of climate change.”