Emperor Akihito's abdication: The abdication ceremony at the Imperial Palace
April 30, 2019, Tokyo, Japan - Japanese Emperor Akihito reads his last message to his people as Japan's monarch upon relinquishing the Chrysanthemum throne in a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, ending his 30-year reign and the Imperial era of Heisei. Earlier in the day, the 85-year-old emperor performed his last rituals at the Palace, reporting his Akihito formally hands over the throne to his heir, Crown Prince Naruhito, at midnight, thus the beginning of the new (Photo by Natsuki Sakai/AFLO) AYF -mis-