TOKYO, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet approved a bill on Tuesday to create a 10-day golden week holiday for the imperial succession scheduled in 2019.
According to the bill, May 1, the day scheduled for Crown Prince Naruhito to ascend the imperial throne, would be designated as an one-off national holiday.
As April 29 and May 3-6 in 2019 are already public holidays, April 30 and May 2 would also become public holidays, as under Japanese law a weekday sandwiched by national holidays automatically becomes a public holiday.
The 10-day holiday will begin on April 27, which falls on a Saturday, through May 6.
The bill was submitted to the House of Representatives Tuesday and is expected to clear the parliament during the ongoing extraordinary Diet session through Dec. 10.
Japanese Emperor Akihito indicated his wish to relinquish and hand over the throne to the crown prince in a rare video message in August 2016, citing his age.
Japanese parliament enacted in June last year a law to allow Emperor Akihito to step down and pass his duties over to Crown Prince Naruhito.
The law, designed specially for the current emperor, would allow Emperor Akihito to be the first Japanese emperor to relinquish the throne in two centuries.
The Japanese government approved in March this year an ordinance on holding Emperor Akihito's abdication ceremony on April 30, 2019. Crown Prince Naruhito is set to ascend the throne on May 1, 2019.
