Japan gears up for Naruhito’s enthronement
Tokyo: Japanese authorities on Sunday started preparations for the upcoming enthronement ceremony of the recently ascended Emperor Naruhito with a series of planned celebrations that have been dampened by the devastating typhoon Hagibis, the deadliest to have hit the archipelago in half a century.
The only event within the celebrations that is open to the general public has been postponed in the aftermath of Hagibis, which claimed 78 lives, injured 346, while nine others remained unaccounted for, Efe news reported.
Emperor Naruhito, who officially took over imperial duties from his father Akihito following his abdication in May, is set to take part in various traditional rituals and festivities on Tuesday marking his ascension to the revered Chrysanthemum Throne.
Naruhito’s enthronement rituals are scheduled to begin Tuesday afternoon at the Imperial Palace where the Emperor will receive the regalia that symbolises his power (a sword representing valour, a mirror exemplifying wisdom and a jewel embodying benevolence) before ceremonially ascending the Takamikura throne, covered by curtains and a canopy that will be 6.5-metre high.
Empress Masako will sit next to him on a lower throne.
Some 2,000 guests, including dignitaries from 174 countries, are set to attend the ensuing celebrations, among them prominent royals such as the UK’s Prince Charles and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.
Naruhito’s ascension marks the beginning of a new era in Japan, dubbed ‘Reiwa’, which roughly translates to ‘beautiful harmony’. He is now the 126th consecutive Japanese emperor. (IANS)
Talk show host bids a million dollars to bribe Trump to resign
Washington DC: Taking his criticism of US President Donald Trump to a new height, American comedian and political commentator, Bill Maher, during his Friday’s episode, went on to offer a million-dollar to Trump for resigning from the office.
During this week’s New Rules segment, Maher quipped that he expected the President to not to resist this offer as he can further bump this number to a billion, with help from other celebrities.
Maher also made light of Trump’s insistence that he can’t be bought because he already has a lot of money.
“The exact opposite is true. The man is constantly for sale,” Maher said.
“He’s worried about Ukrainian corruption? The only time corruption bothered Donald Trump is when he’s not in on it”, Maher told his viewers during the show.
Maher has voiced many times that if Trump loses re-election, he will refuse to leave the office.
“I want to give you another chance to get some money out of me. I’ll bet you a million dollars now that if you lose the 2020 elections then you’ll leave,” he said.
Amid a cheering crowd, the comedian once again corrected himself, “Forget the bet. I got a better idea,” and said, “How about this: Just take my check for USD one million and I bet I could get another thousand people just from here to the beach including Malibu, of course, who would pay that much to see you resign.”
“And to those out there who are saying, ‘My God, Bill, are you suggesting we paying this man to go away? Yes, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting. In fact, I’m insisting.”
He further urged the celebrities to “not waste their money on stupid things like private islands and castles…” and to spend their money on “something good.” (IANS)