As Emperor Akihito hints he may step down in favor of his son, citing ill-health, it helps to remember he has no power. Akihito is nothing more than a figurehead, as the official Imperial Household Agency website shows.
Among the aspects of an emperor’s time spent daily is nothing that shapes the current or future course of Japan.
Several summaries for the Imperial Household Agency description of the monarch:
Besides making appearances at award ceremonies in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area such as the Memorial to the Nation’s War Dead, the Japan Academy Prize Ceremony and Japan Art Academy Prize Ceremony, Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress also visit regional Japan to attend National Arbor Day, the National Sports Festival and the Festival for the Cherished Sea. Their Majesties also visit local welfare, cultural, industrial and other facilities where they offer encouragement to those participating in such work.
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Also:
An audience is a meeting of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress with foreign Heads of State, Prime Ministers, Ambassadors and their spouses, and other distinguished guests. On such occasions Their Majesties have friendly conversations with these guests.
Their Imperial Highnesses the Crown Prince and Crown Princess and the rest of the Imperial Family also hold friendly meetings with foreign guests.
Finally:
During the Ceremony of the Presentation of Credentials, ceremonial horse-drawn carriages welcome newly appointed ambassadors to Japan and convey them from the Meiji Seimei Kan Building to the Imperial Palace South Porch.
Only a few countries worldwide, among them the United Kingdom and Spain, use horse-drawn carriages to welcome newly appointed ambassadors. In Japan, many ambassadors express a preference for the carriages over a conventional motorcade, attesting to the success of the ceremony in promoting international goodwill.
The ceremonial carriages used to welcome ambassadors are drawn by two horses and known as zagyoshiki. Most were manufactured from the end of the Meiji period to the beginning of the Showa period and have artistic value.
Processions of horse-drawn carriages are also used in Imperial Household ceremonies such as the accession of the Emperor to the throne and weddings of members of the Imperial Family.
In other words, the powers of the Emperor do not exist.
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