'The Emperor indicates his intention to abdicate.' This news, which ranked fourth on the list, has prompted the general public to think about the role of the Emperor as the symbol of the state, amid an increasingly aging society.

 In an unusual video message, the Emperor said, “I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the State,” because of a decline in fitness stemming from his advanced age.

 There are likely to be many people who were deeply impressed with the Emperor’s strong sense of responsibility. On the other hand, there are more than a few who have a negative view of the Emperor’s abdication. Diet deliberations on the matter will get into full swing next year. It is necessary to have a level-headed discussion while taking a hard look at how the Imperial Family should be far into the future.

 The news of “U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima,” ranked fifth on the list, also marked an important milestone in postwar history. A serving president of the only country that has used an atomic bomb has for the first time mourned the victims in a city that was bombed. Obama also emphasized the importance of pursuing “a world without nuclear weapons.”

 The sight of Obama and an atomic bomb survivor hugging each other was symbolic of the reconciliation of Japan and the United States, once engaged in hostilities, and of the deepened alliance between the two countries. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will also mourn the victims of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This mature alliance must also be maintained after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Prepare for disasters 

 Ranked first on the list was “Earthquakes in Kumamoto kill 50 people.” Earthquakes registering the highest reading on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 were recorded twice during the same series of seismic activities for the first time in the history of seismological observation in the nation. We should strive to implement antidisaster measures that can handle unanticipated circumstances.

 Ranked third was the news of Japan winning a national record of 41 medals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Performances such as the baton passing in the men’s 4x100-meter relay that brought Japan a silver medal struck the world with wonder.

 Four years from now, the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will finally take place. In the host city, two successive governors were forced to resign over “politics and money” scandals.

 Yuriko Koike, who became the new Tokyo governor under the banner of “putting Tokyoites first,” called for a stop to the swelling cost of holding the Games and also announced the postponement of relocating the Tsukiji fish market, the news of which ranked second. There still remains a mountain of problems. It is only from now that her true worth will be tested.

 Ranked sixth was the news of Yoshinori Ohsumi, an honorary professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for elucidating the mechanism of autophagy, a process by which cells eat themselves. Japanese scholars have won Nobel Prizes in the fields of natural science for three consecutive years. It is vital to extend support to basic research in the future as well.

 Ranked eighth were the killings and injuries inflicted at a welfare facility for intellectually disabled people in Sagamihara, claiming as many as 19 lives. It was a heinous incident that will be noted in the history of crime. Such a sense of discrimination against disabled people as harbored by the male culprit should be wiped from society.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 27, 2016)