apan's Emperor Akihito has strongly indicated he wants to step down, saying he fears his age will make it difficult to fulfil his duties.
日本明仁天皇日前强烈地表露出生前退位的心愿，并担心自己的高龄会影响到履行天皇公务。
The revered 82-year-old emperor's comments came in only his second-ever televised address to the public.
几天前，这位82岁在日本颇具声望的天皇发表了电视演说。这也是他第二次向日本民众发表演说。
Emperor Akihito did not explicitly say he wanted to abdicate as he is barred from making political statements.
明仁天皇没有明确地表示他想要生前退位，因为作为天皇的他不能发表政治言论。
PM Shinzo Abe said the government would take the remarks "seriously" and discuss what could be done.
首相安倍晋三称日本政府会“郑重对待”天皇的发言，并讨论接下来会采取的行动。
Why can't the emperor abdicate? Abdication is not mentioned under Japan's existing laws, so they would need to be changed for the emperor to be able to stand down. The changes would also have to be approved by parliament.
为什么天皇不能生前退位？日本已有法律没有关于退位的条款，因此他们需要修改当前宪法已使天皇顺利退位。对宪法的修改还需要得到日本议会的同意。
What do the public think? Most support the emperor's desire to step down - a recent survey by the Kyodo news agency found more than 85% saying abdication should be legalised. But the move is opposed by some more conservative sections of Japanese society.
日本民众对此事持什么观点？大多日本民众支持天皇生前退位的心愿。最近日本共同社做了一项调查，结果是超出85%的民众表示生前退位应该被列入宪法。然而日本社会一些更为保守的部门反对将天皇生前退位合法化。
Is this the first time a revision of the law has been discussed? A debate about whether or not a woman would be able to ascend the throne was triggered in 2006 when the emperor had no grandsons, but was postponed after a boy was born to the imperial family.
这是第一次就宪法修改提出讨论吗？2006年在明仁天皇尚未有外孙时，日本掀起了关于女性是否能继承皇位的讨论。然而在皇族终于迎来了一名男孩后，此讨论便被搁置。
What does the emperor do? The emperor has no political powers but has several official duties, such as greeting foreign dignitaries. Japan's monarchy is entwined in the Shinto religion and the emperor still performs religious ceremonies. He also plants and harvests a small rice paddy inside the palace while the empress raises silkworms.
天皇有怎样的日常？日本天皇没有政治实权，但需履行诸多公务，例如接见外国政要。日本的皇权同神道教密不可分，因而天皇仍会举行宗教仪式。天皇还在宫殿内有一小块稻田，在那种植收获，而皇后养蚕。
If he were to abdicate, it would be the first time a Japanese emperor has stepped down since Emperor Kokaku in 1817.
如果明仁天皇将生前退位，那么日本将迎来自1817年光格天皇以来拥有的第一位生前退位天皇。
