Japanese say farewell to Emperor Akihito, express hopes for successor

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Emperor Akihito was to step down in favor of his heir, Crown Prince Naruhito, on Tuesday. Below are some comments by ordinary people.

- “I think the emperor is loved by the people. His image is one of encouraging the people, such as after disasters, and being close to the people,” said Morio Miyamoto, 48, waiting near a train station in western Tokyo. “I hope the next emperor will, like the Heisei emperor, be close to the people in the same way,” he said.

- “It's a change of era so I am looking forward to it and hope that it will be an era in which young people can be happy,” said a 50-year-old illustrator who declined to give his name.

“The current emperor has been excellent. Thanks to his diplomacy, the negative image of Japan improved. I hope the new emperor will, like his father, continue this peace diplomacy.”

- “The emperor worked very hard for 30 years so I hope the handing over of the baton to the new emperor will go smoothly,” said Mikiko Fujii, 67, a housewife. “If our expectations for the new emperor are too high, it would be hard on him, so I'd like him to do his job bit by bit.”