Japan’s parliament has passed a law allowing emperor Akihito to become the country’s first monarch to abdicate in more than 200 years, but left the door open to a debate over the possibility of allowing females to ascend the throne. The government was forced to devise a one-off law to enable Akihito, 83, to abdicate after he suggested last summer that his age and health problems were affecting his ability to carry out public duties. Read more
