Japan's Emperor Akihito will abdicate in the coming hours,... ending three decades of Heisei,... an era named in the hope of "achieving peace."
A brief abdication ceremony will be held on Tuesday at 5 p.m. local time,... where both Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will speak.
Akihito's son, Crown Prince Naruhito, will take over on Wednesday,... commencing the imperial era to be known as Reiwa.
Emperor Akihito,... who announced in 2016 his decision to step down due to health conditions,... has broken with recent tradition by becoming the first reigning Japanese monarch to abdicate in over two-hundred years.
While Abe has expressed numerous times his desire to revise the Constitution,... it's left to be seen what messages will be delivered by Abe and the Emperor.