February 26, 2010

The government has decided not to designate specific rules for acts performed on official occasions by the Emperor, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano Hirofumi told reporters on February 25.

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on the same day criticized the government for being ambiguous in light of the constitutional principle of preventing the use of the Emperor for political purposes.

Article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor “shall not have powers related to government.” Shii emphasized the need to adhere strictly to this principle.

However, the Japanese Diet has had the Emperor attend to deliver a speech on the day of the opening ceremony of the Diet session in line with the pre-war ritual the former Imperial Diet had. Therefore, the JCP has never attended the opening ceremony of the Diet.
- Akahata, February 26, 2010