Ailing Japanese King says he might abdicate

Japan’s King Akihito talked about his desire to abdicate, during an historical broadcast on NHK.

Japanese King Akihito, 82, says he wants to step down due to his faltering health.

“I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the state with my whole being as I have done until now,”he said in a rare video address to the public on Monday

He did not say exactly when he would abdicate.

Akihito has been a symbolic ruler for 27 years and his abdication would be unprecedented in modern Japan.

His son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 56, is next in line.

After the statement, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government would take “seriously” the king’s hint that he might abdicate.

According to state-run broadcaster NHK, Akihito had heart surgery in 2012 and is now being treated for prostate cancer