{
  "id": 5197408,
  "title": "Imperial Palace eyed for former emperor's farewell ceremony",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/imperial-palace-eyed-for-former-emperors-farewell-ceremony",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-02T23:28:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260903/p2g/00m/0na/004000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Imperial Household Agency is contemplating a smaller farewell ceremony for Japan's former Emperor Akihito upon his death, according to a source familiar with the matter. The plan would be significantly less grand than the ceremony held for his predecessor, Emperor Hirohito, who is posthumously known as Emperor Showa. This decision reflects former Emperor Akihito's desire to minimize the impact of the ceremony on civilian life.\n\nAkihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum Throne on April 30, 2019, at the age of 92. A state funeral for Emperor Showa was held in February 1989 at Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward park, which drew around 10,000 attendees, including heads of state from across the globe. The park, where the farewell ceremony would also take place, was reportedly closed to the public and extensive preparations were required.",
  "summary": "TOKYO (Kyodo) --The Imperial Household Agency is considering holding a farewell ceremony for Japan's former Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace upo",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}