The government decided Friday to stage a ceremony in October next year to mark Crown Prince Naruhito's accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, but said female members of the Imperial family will not attend one of the key enthronement rituals.
The enthronement ceremony will be held on Oct. 22, 2019, as a state occasion, after the Crown Prince, 58, takes the throne on May 1 that year, the day after Emperor Akihito abdicates, according to the government's basic plan on Imperial succession rites.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said only male members of the Imperial family will attend the key ritual on May 1 in which the new emperor inherits the traditional regalia. The same custom was followed in the previous succession ritual in 1989.