The Japanese government today approved a one-off bill allowing ageing Emperor Akihito to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne, in the first such abdication in two centuries. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, the bill is likely to receive swift final approval in parliament. <br/><br/>Abdication must take place within three years of the bill becoming law.<br/>Earlier this year reports suggested that 83-year-old Akihito could step down at the end of December 2018 and be replaced by Crown Prince Naruhito on January 1, 2019. Reports of his desire to retire surprised Japan when they emerged last July.<br/><br/>In August he publicly cited age and declining health, which was interpreted as his wish to hand the crown to his eldest son.But, current Japanese law has no provision for abdication, thus requiring politicians to craft legislation to make it possible.<br/><br/>The status of the emperor is highly sensitive in Japan given its 20th century history of war waged in the name of Akihito's father Hirohito, who died in 1989.