Japan's Emperor Akihito to address nation on Monday following abdication report

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Emperor Akihito will address the nation on Monday, the Imperial Household Agency said on Friday, following a report last month that he wants to abdicate "in a few years." The 82-year-old monarch, who has had heart surgery and been treated for prostate cancer in recent years, expressed his intention to abdicate in a few years to the agency, public broadcaster NHK said last month. The video address will be aired at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), the agency said. Ordinary Japanese sympathise with Akihito's apparent desire to hand over to Crown Prince Naruhito, but such a step would be unprecedented in modern Japan and the idea faces stiff opposition from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative base. Akihito has been cutting back on official duties recently, his place taken by his heir, 56-year-old Naruhito. Conservatives have already raised objections to changing the law to let Akihito step down, citing problems ranging from his title and possible strife with a new emperor, to worry that the next step would be a break in tradition by letting women succeed and pass on the throne. Naruhito has only one daughter, so since only males can inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne, the throne after Naruhito would pass to his brother, Prince Akishino, and then to nine-year-old nephew Hisahito. Before Hisahito's birth, no male had been born into the imperial family for more than four decades. This prompted discussion of equal inheritance for women, a move opposed by traditionalists eager to preserve a male line they believe goes back more than 2,000 years. (Reporting by Stanley White; Writing by Elaine Lies; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)