The year 2019 marks a new era for Japan, with the abdication of Emperor Akihito ending the three-decade Heisei era. On May 1, Emperor Naruhito took the throne, succeeding his father and ushering in a new imperial era, Reiwa. While Japan's constitution gives the emperor only symbolic status, the emperor and imperial family continue to have a powerful cultural significance for Japan. What is the role of the emperor in Japan today? In this program, Ken Ruoff, the leading authority on the imperial house in Japan, shares his expertise on the Japanese imperial system, the postwar evolution of the monarchy, and the emperor's role in Japanese society.