Some people say they are not sure what to do with their time off.
Japanese workers will have an unprecedented 10-day holiday next month as a rash of special days off for the Emperor's abdication combine with the traditional"Golden Week" in May.For the Emperor's abdication on April 30, Japanese workers are enjoying an unprecedented 10-day holiday as a rash of special days off combine with the traditional"Golden Week" in May.
"I won't be able to take days off. On the contrary, we'll be super-busy," said Takeru Jo, a 46-year-old pizzeria worker."For parents in the service sector, the 10 days of holiday is a headache. After-school care, nurseries -- everything is closed," tweeted one disgruntled parent. As the holiday kicked off on Saturday, airports were packed and there were long queues for Shinkansen bullet trains. Highways out of Tokyo were jammed with motorists aiming to make a getaway from the capital.Still, if people are curiously indifferent to the idea of extra holidays as a result of the emperor, the imperial family remains as popular as ever.
The fact that Emperor Akihito married his sweetheart Michiko"for love" -- the first love marriage in imperial history -- has also boosted his standing, said Hara.But Hideto Tsuboi, from the Kyoto-based International Research Center for Japanese Studies, said 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 Japan's wartime atrocities.
Hara said that while tabloids are beginning to dig deeper into the royals' private lives, memories of right-wing atrocities against imperial opponents"means there is pressure not to criticise the emperor in public". However, a reminder that security needs to be maintained was provided just days before the abdication ceremonies when two knives were found at the school desk of Japan's Prince Hisahito, Akihito's grandson.While criticism of the emperor is virtually non-existent, there has been some opposition to the financing of some of the ceremonies surrounding the abdication and enthronement.
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