[ad_1]
TOKYO: On the occasion of the abdication of the emperor on April 30, Japanese workers will enjoy an unprecedented 10-day vacation, a series of exceptional days off being combined with the traditional " Golden Week "of May.
But not everyone is blowing champagne corks in famous Japan at work.
"To be honest, I do not know how to spend time when we suddenly get ten days off," said Seishu Sato, a 31-year-old finance employee.
"If you want to go on a trip, there will be people everywhere and the costs of the tour have skyrocketed … I could end up staying with my parents," he said.
READ: Japanese Emperor Akihito ends his reign marked by modernization
READ: Reiwa revealed as the new era of Japan
An investigation by the daily Asahi Shimbun revealed that 45% of Japanese "felt unhappy" about long vacations, while only 35% said they "felt happy".
"I will not be able to take time off, but we will be very busy," said Takeru Jo, a 46-year-old pizza worker.
Others who have to work during this period complain about childcare.
"For parents in the service sector, the 10-day vacation is a headache – babysitting after school, child care – everything is closed," tweeted an unhappy parent.
Many expect that Tokyo and other big cities will be empty, the Japanese seizing the rare opportunity of a trip abroad.
"Most of our holiday tours were sold last year," said Hideki Wakamatsu, spokesman for Nippon Travel Agency, adding that many more people were on the waiting list. .
& # 39; WEDDING OF LOVE & # 39;
Nevertheless, if people are curiously indifferent to the idea of additional vacations as a result of the emperor, the imperial family remains as popular as ever.
A survey conducted by the NHK public channel revealed that almost no one admits a "feeling of dislike" towards the emperor, the vast majority of them claiming that they had a "positive feeling" or "respect". Only 22% expressed indifference.
This positive sentiment has increased every year since 2003, according to the NHK survey.
Takeshi Hara, a professor of politics at the Open University of Japan, said this was largely due to the "welfare-related activities" of the imperial couple.
"Their attention to the elderly, the disabled and the victims of natural disasters – those ignored by politicians over the past three decades – has gained the support of the public," Hara told AFP.
The fact that Emperor Akihito married his fiancee Michiko "for love", the first love wedding in imperial history, also strengthened his status, said Hara.
But Hideto Tsuboi, of the Kyoto-based International Center for Research on Japanese Studies, said that one of the main reasons for Akihito's popularity lay in the fact that he was "conscious of the responsibility of the post-war generation "to reflect on the atrocities committed during the war in Japan. .
Last year, on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Akihito reiterated his "deep remorse" for the war and his constant desire for peace.
Unlike many constitutional monarchies, there is almost no Republican movement to speak of and the criticism of the emperor is anathema – a phenomenon known as the chrysanthemum taboo after the throne.
Hara said that even though the tabloids were beginning to deepen the privacy of the royal family, the memory of right-wing atrocities against imperial opponents "means that there is pressure not to criticize the government. emperor in public ".
In 1961, a right winger invaded the house of the president of a publishing house and stabbed his governess to death for a novel perceived to be critical of the imperial family.
More recently, in 1990, the mayor of Nagasaki, at the time, was shot and wounded after noticing that Akihito's father, Hirohito, was partly responsible for the Second World War.
& # 39; HIGHLY RELIGIOUS NATURE & # 39;
Although criticism of the emperor is virtually non-existent, funding for some ceremonies surrounding the abdication and enthronement has sparked some opposition.
More than 200 Japanese citizens have filed a lawsuit against the government for considering using taxpayers' money to fund the ceremonies.
They say that ceremonies are religious in nature and that funding them from public funds violates the constitutional principle separating religion and state.
They received the unexpected support of a member of the imperial family, Prince Akishino, the youngest son of the emperor, who will become Crown Prince when his brother Naruhito will ascend the throne.
Noting that one of the rituals "has a highly religious nature", Akishino asked: "I wonder if it is appropriate to finance this very religious thing with public funds."
Source link
