<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><br class=""><div><div class=""><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8" class=""><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><h1 itemprop="headline" id="headline" class="headline" style="line-height: 2.375rem; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font size="3" class="">(As I’ve said before, we need a President, not an Emperor. M.S.) </font></h1><h1 itemprop="headline" id="headline" class="headline" style="font-size: 2.125rem; line-height: 2.375rem; font-style: italic; font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">At 82, Emperor Akihito of Japan Wants to Retire.</h1><div class=""><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout-300" width="600" style="font-family: Futura-Medium; font-size: 16px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td align="left" style="padding: 5px 0px 0px;" class=""><h4 style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal;" class=""><font face="Georgia" class="">Monday, August 8, 2016 2:16 AM EDT</font></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-weight: normal;" class=""> </span><i class=""><font face="Georgia" class="">New York Times: </font></i></h4></td></tr><tr class=""><td class="summary-font" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 16px; font-family: georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif !important;"></td></tr><tr class=""><td style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 16px; font-family: georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif !important;" class="">In an extraordinary televised address on Monday, Emperor Akihito of Japan spoke publicly about his retirement for the first time. Though his words were characteristically vague — he discussed his age, his rigorous daily schedule, and what he called his increasing physical limitations — the message was unmistakable.</td></tr></tbody></table><img apple-inline="yes" id="FE04D47D-4873-4BC9-837C-5EA4E944E1EC" height="298" width="294" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" class="" src="cid:13F0D379-EE43-45E7-B197-F59A7CD56B6F@Home"><br class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class=""><b class="">Finally, a job where ‘The Donald’ can act as ‘The Donald’ wishes. </b>He’ll no longer be upset about sending jobs overseas and, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get the ‘Chrysanthemum Throne’ gilded.</font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class="">If Akihito steps down, the move could redefine Japan’s royal family, the world’s oldest hereditary monarchy. While the emperor now has only symbolic power (much like a television personality), an abdication could also resurrect a contentious issue in Japan: the debate over allowing a woman to occupy the throne. Ivanka, could be next!</font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class="">Japanese emperors define eras in the country. Its unique calendar is based on their reigns: 2016 is expressed as Akihito’s 28th year on the throne, and when his successor takes over, the date will reset to Year One. How perfect is that? TRUMP I</font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class="">After the war, Hirohito stunned his subjects by declaring that he was not a god, overturning decades of government propaganda and centuries of loosely held tradition. A new Constitution, imposed by the victorious United States, stripped him of political power and relegated the monarchy to a purely ceremonial role but, the uniforms are still cool.</font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class="">In recent years some have come to see Akihito as a quiet but powerful guardian of Japan’s postwar pacifist identity. Trump should be able to change that without too much trouble since the Japanese are so polite.</font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class="">Akihito said he wanted to avoid a situation where “society comes to a standstill” before his death, and the elaborate funeral rites required afterward distracted from the enthronement of his heir. I really don’t see much of a problem here; President Obama should be able to obtain an export certificate for Mr. Trump ASAP.</font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div class=""><font face="Georgia" class="">Why wait? JAPAN NEEDS TRUMP! </font></div><div class=""><b style="font-family: Georgia;" class=""><i style="font-size: 14px;" class="">MZS 8/8/16</i></b></div></div></div></div><br class=""></body></html>