When Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito was in his last few weeks at Oxford University, he took time to revisit all his favourite places. He realised that if he were to come back again he would not be able to wander around the city freely like a student.
"The town would be the same; what would be different would be my position in life," he wrote in a memoir. "When I thought about things like that, I was overtaken by a strange feeling of uneasiness, and wished that time would stop." More than 30 years on, he faces another transition. Emperor Akihito, 83, wants to abdicate, leaving his son to take his place. Special legislation allowing this has just passed parliament, with the abdication expected in late 2018.
"The town would be the same; what would be different would be my position in life," he wrote in a memoir. "When I thought about things like that, I was overtaken by a strange feeling of uneasiness, and wished that time would stop." More than 30 years on, he faces another transition. Emperor Akihito, 83, wants to abdicate, leaving his son to take his place. Special legislation allowing this has just passed parliament, with the abdication expected in late 2018.
