Emperor Emeritus funeral to be scaled down per his wishes

The Imperial Household Agency is coordinating plans to significantly reduce the scale of the future funeral for the Emperor Emeritus, in accordance with his wishes to minimize the impact on public life.

According to agency sources, the “Sōba-den no Gi” (the funeral service) is being considered for relocation from an outdoor setting to the Imperial Palace. This shift aims to reduce construction costs and limit the number of attendees to approximately 2,500 people, a substantial decrease from the approximately 10,000 people who attended the funeral of Emperor Showa 37 years ago.

Additional measures to simplify the proceedings include splitting ceremonies that previously lasted from early morning until late at night into two separate days to reduce the burden on participants and the Imperial Family. The agency has also previously announced a move from traditional burial to cremation for the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita to further simplify the process. The size of the imperial mausoleum is also expected to be roughly 80% of the size used for previous emperors.