Coordinates	53°20′53″N6°45′42 }}″N
{{infobox company |company name	Areva SA |company_logo |company_type Public () |foundation 2001 |location Tour ArevaCourbevoie, Paris, France |key_people Luc Oursel - Chief Executive Officer |industry Mining, Energy |products Uranium, Electricity |revenue €9.104 billion |operating_income |num_employees 47,851 |market cap |homepage http://www.areva.com }}

AREVA () is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome (now AREVA NP), Cogema (now AREVA NC) and Technicatome (now AREVA TA). Its main shareholder is the French public-sector company, the CEA, which owns 78.9%. The CEA's brief is similar to that of the US Department of Energy. But the German company Siemens also retains 34% of the shares of AREVA's subsidiary, AREVA NP, in charge of building the EPR, an advanced Generation III+ PWR nuclear reactor.

The parent company is incorporated under French law as a ''société anonyme'' (SA: public corporation) and is also recognized as a public limited company in Britain and a corporation in American jurisdictions. The French State (including the shares owned by the CEA) owns more than 90%. The corporate name AREVA is inspired by the Trappist Santa Maria de la Real monastery in Arevalo in Spain. Anne Lauvergeon is the Chairman of the Executive Board (equivalent to President and CEO).

According to the company official website, AREVA realized €13.16 billion in sales revenue in 2008 and €417 million in operating income. However, AREVA had 6.2 billion euros of net debt at the end of 2009. In June 2010, Standard & Poor's downgraded AREVA’s debt rating to BBB+ due to weakened profitability following a further € 400 million provision for the Olkiluoto-3 over-running European Pressurized Reactor build. In July 2010, the French government authorised a 15% capital increase at AREVA, in which Électricité de France (EDF) could raise its stake from 2.4% to 7%.

Energy company

AREVA is a world-leading company in nuclear energy. It is the only company with a presence in each industrial activity linked to nuclear energy: mining, chemistry, enrichment, combustibles, services, engineering, nuclear propulsion and reactors, treatment, recycling, stabilization, and dismantling. AREVA also claims to offer technological solutions for CO₂-free energy; and produces earth leakage circuit breaker technologies.

Four main subsidiaries form the core of AREVA:

AREVA NP (formerly Framatome ANP) — Nuclear Power: develops and builds nuclear reactors; Siemens had a 34% stake in AREVA NP until April 2011.

AREVA NC (formerly Cogema) — Nuclear Cycle: covers the whole nuclear fuel cycle, from mining to waste disposal. Owns Eurodif

AREVA TA (formerly Technicatome) : develops and builds research reactors and reactors for the naval propulsion

AREVA T&D; — Transmission and Distribution: power transmission and distribution. It was bought from Alstom on 9 January 2004. Currently, AREVA T&D; Division has been sold to ALSTOM and Schneider Electric.

The major partners of AREVA include: Euriware, STMicroelectronics, Eramet, and SAFRAN.

AREVA is part of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) alliance, along with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), Washington Group International and BWX. GNEP is a plan initiated in 2006 to form an international partnership to reprocess spent nuclear fuel in a way that renders the plutonium in it usable for nuclear fuel but not for nuclear weapons.

Administration

The actions of the Chairman of the Executive Board, Anne Lauvergeon, are subject to considerable oversight by both the board of directors and the supervisory board. In 2006, Spencer Abraham, the former U.S. Secretary of Energy, was named non-executive chairman of AREVA Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of AREVA.

Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government announced the privatization of AREVA in 2003, but it was postponed several times, the French government opting finally for the privatization of GDF and EDF. At the end of October 2005, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced that he had suspended the privatization process.

History

AREVA has its roots in Framatome, which was founded in 1958 by several companies of the French industrial giant The Schneider Group along with Empain, Merlin Gérin, and the American Westinghouse, in order to license Westinghouse's pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology and develop a bid for Chooz 1 in Belgium. Called Franco-Américaine de Constructions Atomiques (Framatome), the original company consisted of four engineers, one each from each of the parent companies. The original mission of the company was to act as a nuclear engineering firm and to develop a nuclear power plant that was to be identical to Westinghouse's existing product specifications. The first European plant of Westinghouse design was by then already under construction in Italy.

Meanwhile, the Électricité de France (EDF), the French government-owned electric utility, in opposition to the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA), maintained an interest in PWR technology. The Chooz contract offered the EDF, which joined with the Belgian electric utilities to call for the Chooz bids, the opportunity to explore PWR without offending French national pride in its homegrown GCR technology. By the beginning of 1960, only two bids remained in contention; midway through 1960 Framatome received informal permission to begin design work on the Chooz reactor. A formal contract was signed in September, 1961 for Framatome to deliver a turnkey system, that is, not only the reactor, but an entire, ready-to-use system of piping, cabling, supports, and other auxiliary systems, propelling Framatome from a nuclear engineering firm to an industrial contractor.

By 1981, France was pressing for even more control of Framatome. In January, Westinghouse agreed to sell its remaining 15 percent share to Creusot-Loire, which now owned 66 percent, and to cede complete marketing independence to Framatome. In February, the Belgian Baron Empain sold his 35 percent interest in Creusot-Loire to Paribas, a French government-linked banking group.

The May 1981 Socialist electoral victory in France intensified calls for greater government control of Framatome. A January 1982 company reorganization simultaneously strengthened French public and private control of the company by allowing Creusot-Loire to increase its share of the company while increasing CEA say in the running of the firm.

In March 2010, AREVA announced on the design of a new reactor type capable of breaking down actinides created as a product of nuclear fission.

Nuclear reactor designs

EPR

AREVA has been constructing Finland's fifth reactor in Olkiluoto since 2005. The reactor, which is one of the first of the new, third generation reactors (EPR - European Pressurized Reactor), was planned to begin producing electricity in 2009, but the project has been delayed because of technical difficulties and quality problems. In August, 2007 the production start was postponed to 2010–2011. During the political debate in 1992, the official price estimate was 2500M euros. In 2004, a contracted fixed price was established as 3200M euros. In its 2006 Annual Report, AREVA recorded a writedown of 507M euros associated with the delay. A Jan 2008 financial press estimate pegged the overrun so far at 1.5 billion euros. In June 2010, cost overruns were estimated at 2.7 billion euros.

The second EPR in France is currently under construction at the Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant. As of May 2009, this plant is also behind schedule and over-budget.

On 13 August 2007 the French newspaper ''Le Parisien'' alleged that the Franco-Libyan civil nuclear power agreement signed by President Nicolas Sarkozy did not concern desalinization of sea water, as claimed by the French government, but instead focused in particular on selling the EPR to Libya, a contract potentially worth $3 billion. ''Le Parisien'' cited Philippe Delaune, deputy to the deputy director of international affairs for the CEA atomic agency, which is the main share-holder in AREVA. Following allegations that the deal had been related to the release of the Bulgarian nurses, the French Socialist Party, through the spokesperson Jean-Louis Bianco, declared that this deal was "geopolitically irresponsible". The German government also denounced the agreement.

In November 2007, AREVA agreed to a €8 billion deal with the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group to supply them with two EPRs in Taishan, Guangdong, China. Under the terms of the agreement, AREVA will also help operate the plant, including the reprocessing of spent fuel.

Atmea I

The Atmea I is a new evolutionary reactor design targeted towards both developed and developing economies. It will be developed through a joint venture with Mitsubishi called Atmea. Current plans are targeting power output of about 1,100 MWe, but the design could be scalable to produce different levels of power output to fit different size grids. Current plans call for the design to be ready for licensing applications by the end of 2009.

Kerena

AREVA has announced that its 1,250 MWe Generation III+ boiling water reactor (BWR) design, provisionally known as SWR-1000, will henceforth be called Kerena. The Kerena design was developed from that of the Gundremmingen Nuclear Power Plant by AREVA, with extensive German input and using operating experience from Generation II BWRs to simplify systems engineering.

Renewable energy

AREVA created the global AREVA Renewables group in 2006 as an expansion of its clean energy portfolio with renewable energy. This group represents four business lines: concentrated solar power, offshore wind power, biomass power, and hydrogen power storage and distribution. AREVA Renewables is based at the Paris, France, headquarters with business units in the United States, Brazil, and Germany.

Concentrated Solar Power

In Feb 2010, AREVA formed AREVA Solar with its acquisition of US-based Ausra, a provider of concentrated solar power solutions using Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) technology. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, AREVA Solar operates a 5MWe solar power plant in Bakersfield, California, at its Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Plant development facility. AREVA Solar markets its solar boiler technology in three formats: as a standalone solar power plant generating 50MW+ of electricity, as a solar booster (20-50MW) adding solar steam power to an existing fossil-fuel power plant for carbon mitigation, and as an industrial steam provider for food, oil, desalination and other processes. AREVA Solar’s boilers attain 750-degree F superheated steam and are the first and only solar boiler to receive S-Stamp certification by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Offshore Wind Power

In 2007 AREVA purchased 51% of offshore wind turbine manufacturer Multibrid. In June 2010, AREVA purchased the remaining 49% and formed AREVA Wind. At its Bremerhaven, Germany, manufacturing facility, AREVA Wind produces 5MW wind turbines specifically designed and sealed for offshore environments. The company designs, manufactures, assembles and commissions its wind turbines, blades and masts, with existing placements being in the North Sea. To reduce weight and size, the company uses a hybrid drive system in the turbine. The turbine generates a maximum of 5MW of electricity in a maximum 39 feet/sec (12 meter/sec) wind. From the ocean’s surface to the top tip of the blade rotation, an AREVA Wind turbine assembly stands taller (616 feet / 188 meters) than the Washington Monument (555 feet / 169 meters).

Biomass Power

AREVA is the global leader in the production and operation of biomass power plants with 97 plants worldwide generating 2,900 MW of electricity. Biomass power plant locations include Brazil, Chile, Germany, India and Thailand. The bulk of the company’s operations are through its Brazilian subsidiary, AREVA Koblitz, which builds biomass power plants based on bagasse (organic waste from sugar cane) and low power hydroelectric plants. In the United States, AREVA formed a partnership with Duke Energy in September 2008, named ADAGE, to build and operate 55MW biomass power plants based on clean wood waste collected during sustainable forestry operations. The first biomass power plant is progressing through permitting in Mason County, Washington.

Hydrogen Power Storage and Distribution

AREVA is developing a hydrogen production technology using water electrolysis powered by a clean energy source, such as solar power, to store power in a fuel cell for distribution as electricity when needed. This storage and distribution technology is designed to mitigate the uncertainty of an intermittent energy source, like solar and wind renewable energy. AREVA supports ongoing research in this field through partnerships with the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (National Research Agency), the Horizon Hydrogen Power (H2E) program, and ELHYPSE, proprietary research performed with academic partners CEA and Risoe.

Worldwide presence

Worldwide, the AREVA group has an industrial presence in 40 countries and its commercial network reaches more than 100 countries. It employs 58,000 people and has consolidated sales revenue of €10.863 billion. It is a member of the World Nuclear Association. In 2006, ''Fortune Magazine'' reported that AREVA was the "Most Admired Global Energy Company."

AREVA has partnered with engineering contractors to aid in the reconstruction of Iraq by manufacturing equipment to construct electrical substations.

In June 2007, AREVA announced plans to acquire the African uranium mining company UraMin for a final price of about 2.5 billion USD. This move further beefs up AREVA's nuclear business, and AREVA plans to increase production to 9 million kilograms of yellowcake by 2012.

AREVA has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the establishment of a joint venture for their next reactor design.

Niger (mines)

AREVA owns two mines in Arlit, Niger, where it employs 1,600 people; Niger is the world's fifth largest uranium producer. Nigerien uranium accounts for 30% of French consumption and 32% of Niger's exports, but less than 5% of Niger's GDP. The increase in the cost of uranium on world markets in 2006 (more than 46%) will enable Niger to triple its revenues sourced from AREVA. On 25 July 2007, the CEO of AREVA-Niger, Dominique Pin, was expelled from Niger (although he was in Paris at the time) on charges of supporting the Tuareg Rebellion. According to ''Le Canard enchaîné'', this move from Seyni Oumarou's government was motivated by negotiations concerning the uranium trade agreement, which was finally renewed on 1 August 2007. Furthermore, Laouel Kader Mahamadou, who had resigned from his functions as secretary general of the Nigerien government to take a consulting job with AREVA-Niger, was asked by the Nigerien DGSE to remain in Niger instead of flying to France for an integration workshop until a "clarification of the situation" could be obtained.

The population of Niger was exposed to a serious famine in 2005. AREVA donated 130,000 euros in June 2005 to the food crisis coordination group of Niger, and 120,000 euros in July in the form of two planes loaded with food and organized by Bernard Kouchner's ''Réussir'' NGO. According to ''Le Canard Enchaîné'', this aid amounted to 0.06% of AREVA's annual profits of 428 million euros.

In November 2009 Greenpeace released a report indicating that two villages near AREVA's mining operations in Niger have dangerously high levels of radiation.

Canada

AREVA Resources Canada is a uranium mining, milling, and exploration company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. AREVA Resources Canada has offices and operations in Saskatoon, La Ronge, McClean Lake, Cluff Lake, and in Baker Lake, Nunavut.

McClean Lake Located over 700 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, McClean Lake is AREVA Resources' flagship operation. Open pit mining began in 1995 and suspended with the completion of Sue orebodies in 2008. The JEB mill was recently expanded and upgraded to process ore from other projects, such as Cigar Lake. The McClean Lake operation meets ISO 14001 standards for environmental management, and OHSAS 18001 for occupational health and safety management.

Cluff Lake In 2002, the Cluff Lake mine reached the end of its uranium production. The Cluff Lake mine produced 62 million pounds of yellowcake over a 22 year period. Since mining ceased, AREVA Resources has implemented a decommissioning program to rehabilitate the site. Most of the decommissioning was completed in 2006 after two years of work to fill the open pits, demolish the mill, cover the tailings management area, and reslope and cover waste rock piles. Over 800,000 trees have been planted in this effort. The Cluff Lake operation meets ISO 14001 standards for environmental management; this is the first decommissioning effort to ever receive this certification.

South Korea

In 2007, AREVA signed a ten year deal with the South Korean public company KHNP to enrich uranium in its forthcoming Georges Besse II enrichment plant. The deal is worth over 1 billion euros.

United States

In the USA, AREVA is present in 40 locations across 20 states and employs 5,000 people. AREVA supplies network products to two-thirds of all US utilities. Moreover, AREVA was ranked the No 1 US supplier in nuclear energy products and services, in Energy Management Systems and in Energy Market Systems. AREVA NC Inc.'s headquarters are located in Bethesda, MD, while AREVA NP Inc.'s North American Headquarters are located in Lynchburg, VA.

In February 2002, the U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced the Nuclear Power 2010 Program, which included plans for two EPRs. On 15 September 2005 AREVA and Constellation Energy of Baltimore announced a new joint venture called UniStar Nuclear that will market the commercial EPR in the US.

In line with AREVA's "strategic business plan of expanding the US commercial nuclear infrastructure", in 2007 AREVA announced plans to construct a centrifuge enrichment plant in the United States. The proposed 3 million separative work unit (SWU) enrichment plant could begin operation in 2013 and reach full capacity by 2017. AREVA has confirmed the potential site for this plant will be 30 kilometres west of Idaho Falls, near the US Department of Energy's (DoE's) Idaho National Laboratory. The project is likely to cost in the region of $2 billion and will provide uranium enrichment services to US nuclear plant operators using advanced proven centrifuge technology developed by URENCO and the Enrichment Technology Company Ltd (ETC), an AREVA/URENCO joint venture.

China

In China AREVA won an 8 billion euro ($11.9 billion) agreement to build nuclear reactors, a record for the French company. The long-expected announcement came at the start of formal talks in Beijing between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao. ``France wants to build a complete partnership for the future with China,'' Sarkozy said today in Beijing during a joint briefing with Chinese President Hu Jintao. ``China's spectacular development is a chance for the world.''

French, American and Russian suppliers have been vying for contracts in China, which plans to build as many as 32 nuclear plants by 2020 to meet surging power demands while cutting emissions and reducing reliance on imported oil. U.S. and French politicians have been lobbying Beijing hard on behalf of their companies. "When you look at China's energy problems, nuclear energy is not the whole answer, but it is part of the answer," AREVA CEO Anne Lauvergeon told a news conference.

The deal allows AREVA to "consolidate its presence in one of the most dynamic markets in the world with enormous potential," Lauvergeon said.

State-run AREVA said the contract with state-run China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp. was a record for the French company. The third-generation pressurized water reactors, designed by AREVA's Framatome subsidiary, would boost CGNPC's output by 3,400 megawatts, AREVA said earlier.

The contract also calls on AREVA to provide uranium to fuel the reactors through 2026. The reactors are to be built by 2013-2014 in the city of Taishan in Guangdong province, an export manufacturing powerhouse with heavy demand for power and high levels of industrial pollution.

CPR-1000

The China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company has enhanced the French 900 MWe three cooling loop design imported in the 1990s into the 1,000 MWe CPR-1000 design, which is being quickly deployed with fifteen units under construction as at June 2010.

Some intellectual property rights are retained by AREVA, which limits CPR-1000 export potential for China. AREVA is reported to be considering whether it should market the cheaper, less sophisticated, CPR-1000 alongside the EPR, for countries that are new to nuclear power.

Poland

AREVA T&D; owns following entities in Poland:

Protection relays & automation systems factory in Świebodzice.

Distribution transformers factory in Mikołów.

Systems unit in Katowice, preparing, managing and building substation as a "turn key" projects.

Sales organization located in Katowice.

AREVA T&D; employs 380 people in Poland.

Other activities

AREVA is also involved in military technology, such as designing the nuclear reactor for the French Barracuda class submarine.

One of AREVA's subsidiaries, Euriware (founded in 1991) specializes in computer engineering, and employs 2,100 persons on 14 different sites. AREVA also owns 11% of STMicroelectronics, 26,25% of Eramet, and 8,45% of Safran. In May 2005 it sold all of its stakes in Assystem, as well as FCI in October 2005 (sold to the private equity firm Bain Capital).

CERCA, a subsidiary of AREVA, is also involved in TRIGA International, established in 1996 with the US firm General Atomics.

AREVA is also a corporate member of the Bruegel think tank.

2007 fine

In January 2007 AREVA was fined €53 million by the European Commission for rigging EU electricity markets through a cartel involving 11 companies, including ABB, Alstom, Fuji, Hitachi Japan, AE Power Systems, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, Schneider, Siemens, Toshiba and VA Tech ELIN. According to the Commission, "between 1988 and 2004, the companies rigged bids for procurement contracts, fixed prices, allocated projects to each other, shared markets and exchanged commercially important and confidential information." Siemens was given a fine of €396 million, more than half of the total, for its alleged leadership role in the cartel.

AREVA is not accused of any cartel involvement other than through the acquisition of an Alstom unit in January 2004. "This subsidiary was acquired by the Areva group towards the end of the infringement, in January 2004. The parent entities of the Areva group share a joint liability with that subsidiary for the period after its acquisition." "A few months before the cartel ended Alstom sold the unit involved to Areva, which knew nothing of the cartel. It [Areva] and Alstom have joint liability for 53.6 million, which they must decide how to split."

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes declared that "The commission has put an end to a cartel which has cheated public utility companies and consumers for more than 16 years".

Advertisements

AREVA has gained some fame after airing 3,000 cel-shaded animation television ad spots created by French design group H5, who also created the similar music video for Röyksopp's "Remind Me". The ads explained how the generation and distribution of nuclear power works. The ads featured the song "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc..

In the French economic paper "challenges" Anne Lauvergeon, chairman, declared the 10th July 2008: "Uranium is a main part of our success. '(...)'. So in China, we sold two nuclear parts, plus 35% of our uranium production. This is our integrated business model."

Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility

AREVA Inc., based in Bethesda, Maryland, announced on 2008-05-06 that it will seek all necessary approval to build a uranium enrichment facility in Bonneville County, Idaho, about twenty miles west of Idaho Falls and near the Idaho National Laboratory.

On 2008-08-04, the AREVA group announced its proposed gas centrifuge enrichment facility will be named the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility (EREF).

Entering India

On 18 December 2008 AREVA signed an agreement with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) for the supply of 300 tonnes of uranium to India for power generation, thus becoming the first-ever foreign supplier of Uranium to the country after the NSG waiver.

On 4 February 2009, AREVA signed a MOU to supply two to six nuclear reactors to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. The deal is thought to be worth around 12.3 billion dollars (600 billion rupees), an all-time record for the company surpassing the 8-billion Euro (11.1 billion dollars) deal signed with China a few years earlier. They are also likely to supply fuel for the project which is intended for the western Indian state of Maharashtra and carry out the construction of a 110/11KV Substation for Infopark at Cherthala in Kerala.

See also

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant

European Atomic Energy Community

Groupe INTRA

Kazatomprom

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station

Nuclear Power 2010 Program

World Nuclear Industry Status Report

Sites

Tri-Cities, Washington

References

External links

AREVA Website

US AREVA North America Blog

AREVA T&D; (Transmission & Distribution) Website

AREVA T&D; Poland (Transmission & Distribution) Website

AREVA Energy Experts (The AREVA TV Animation)

Report on AREVA dropping their bid for Westinghouse in August, 2005

Official site of the Olkiluoto reactor project in Finland

The Multinational Monitor, July 1983,Vol. 4, Number 7, International Monetary Fund

Framatome SA Company History

Areva safety claim triggers reaction -- Financial Times

Category:Companies of France Category:Nuclear technology companies Category:Nuclear technology in France Category:Companies based in Paris Category:Wind turbine manufacturers Category:Solar energy companies of the United States

ar:آرافا br:Areva cs:Areva de:Areva es:Areva fr:Areva it:Areva ja:アレヴァ pl:Areva ro:Areva ru:Areva fi:Areva sv:Areva

Coordinates	53°20′53″N6°45′42 }}″N
border	imperial
font color	blue
royal title	Emperor
realm	Japan天皇
coatofarms	Imperial Seal of Japan.svg
coatofarms article	Imperial Seal of Japan
type	other
incumbent	Akihito
his/her	His Imperial
heir apparent	Crown Prince Naruhito
first monarch	Emperor Jimmu
date	''660 BC'' }}

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people", with functions as head of state. The Emperor is called the ''Tennō'' (天皇) in Japanese, literally meaning "heavenly sovereign". He is also referred to in English as the Mikado (帝) of Japan.

The Emperor is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion. Japan's present 1947 constitution does not use the term ''head of state'' but refers to the Emperor as "the symbol of the state and the unity of the people". It establishes the emperor as a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy. In his dual role as head of a religion and head of state the Emperor resembles the British monarch, who is "supreme governor" of the Church of England.

The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world. In Nihon Shoki, a book of Japanese history finished in the eighth century, it is said that the Empire of Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu. The current emperor is His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Akihito, who has been on the Chrysanthemum Throne since his father the Showa Emperor (Hirohito) died in 1989.

The role of the Emperor of Japan has historically alternated between a largely ceremonial and symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1192, the emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, unlike many Western monarchs. Japanese emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. In fact, from 1192 to 1867, the shoguns, or their shikken regents (1203–1333), were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor.

Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called "Kyūjō" (宮城), then ''Kōkyo'' (皇居), and located on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo. Earlier emperors resided in Kyoto for nearly eleven centuries.

The Emperor's Birthday (currently celebrated on 23 December) is a national holiday.

Role

Unlike most constitutional monarchies, the Emperor is not even the ''nominal'' chief executive. Rather, the Constitution of Japan explicitly states that the Emperor only "shall perform ... acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government" (article 4) and that the "advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state" (article 3, which also states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor). Article 65 explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the Prime Minister is the leader.

The duties the Emperor performs are closely regulated by the constitution. For example, while formally the Emperor's duties include appointing the Prime Minister to office, article 6 of the constitution requires him to appoint the candidate "as designated by the Diet" (in practice, the candidate designated by the House of Representatives) without the right to decline appointment. This is in marked contrast to his status under the Meiji Constitution, which recognized the emperor as the embodiment of all sovereign power of the realm.

The other detailed regulation of the Emperor's duties "in matters of state" (not government) is laid down in article 7 of the constitution, where it is stated that the "Emperor with the advice and approval of the Cabinet, shall perform the following acts in matters of state on behalf of the people: #Promulgation of amendments of the constitution, laws, cabinet orders and treaties. #Convocation of the Diet. #Dissolution of the House of Representatives. #Proclamation of general election of members of the Diet. #Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, and of full powers and credentials of Ambassadors and Ministers. #Attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights. #Awarding of honors. #Attestation of instruments of ratification and other diplomatic documents as provided for by law. #Receiving foreign ambassadors and ministers. #Performance of ceremonial functions."

History

Although the emperor has been a symbol of continuity with the past, the degree of power exercised by the emperor of Japan has varied considerably throughout Japanese history. In the early 7th century the emperor began to be called .

Origin

The earliest emperor recorded in Kojiki and Nihon Shoki is Emperor Jimmu. The key to knowing the origin of the Japanese imperial line may lie within the ancient imperial tombs known as kofun. However, since the Meiji period, the Imperial Household Agency has refused to open the kofun to the public or to archaeologists, citing their desire not to disturb the spirits of the past emperors as justification for their refusal. But in December 2006, the Imperial Household Agency reversed its position and decided to allow researchers to enter some of the kofun with no restrictions.

Factional control

There have been six non-imperial families who have controlled Japanese emperors: the Soga (530s–645), the Fujiwara (850s–1070), the Taira (for a relatively short period), the Minamoto (and Kamakura bakufu) (1192–1333), the Ashikaga (1336–1565) and the Tokugawa (1603–1867). However, every shogun from the Minamoto, Ashikaga and Tokugawa families had to be officially recognized by the emperors, who were still the source of sovereignty, although they could not exercise their powers independently from the Shogunate.

Disputes

The growth of the samurai class from the 10th century gradually weakened the power of the imperial family over the nation, leading to a time of instability. Emperors have been known to come into conflict with the reigning shogun from time to time; a notable example is the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156, in which former Emperor Sutoku attempted to seize power from the then current Emperor Go-Shirakawa, both of whom were supported by different clans of samurai. Other instances, such as Emperor Go-Toba's 1221 rebellion against the Kamakura shogunate and the 1336 Kemmu Restoration under Emperor Go-Daigo, show the power struggle between the Imperial House and the military governments of Japan.

Territorial matters

Up to recent centuries, Japan's territory did not include several remote regions of its modern-day territory. The name Nippon came into use only many centuries after the start of the current imperial line. Centralized government only began to appear shortly before and during the time of Prince Shōtoku. The emperor was more like a revered embodiment of divine harmony rather than the head of an actual governing administration. In Japan it has always been easy for ambitious lords to hold actual power, as such positions have not been inherently contradictory to the emperor's position. Parliamentary government today continues a similar coexistence with the emperor as have various shoguns, regents, warlords, guardians, etc.

Historically the titles of ''Tennō'' in Japanese have never included territorial designations as is the case with many European monarchs. The position of emperor is a territory-independent phenomenon—the emperor is the emperor, even if he has followers only in one province (as was the case sometimes with the southern and northern courts).

Shoguns

From 1192 to 1867, sovereignty of the state was exercised by the shoguns, or their ''shikken'' regents (1203–1333), whose authority was conferred by Imperial warrant. When Portuguese explorers first came into contact with the Japanese (see ''Nanban period''), they described Japanese conditions in analogy, likening the Emperor, with great symbolic authority but little political power, to the Pope, and the Shogun to secular European rulers, e.g. the Holy Roman Emperor. In keeping with the analogy, they even used the term "Emperor" in reference to the shogun/regent, e.g. in the case of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who missionaries called "Emperor Taicosama" (from Taiko and the honorific ''sama'').

Meiji restoration

After the United States Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry's Black Ships forcibly opened Japan to foreign trade and the shogunate proved incapable of hindering the "barbarian" interlopers, the Emperor Kōmei began to assert himself politically. By the early 1860s, the relationship between the imperial court and the Shogunate was changing radically. Disaffected domains and ronin began to rally to the call of ''sonnō jōi'', or "respect the emperor, expel the barbarians." The domains of Satsuma and Chōshū, historic enemies of the Tokugawa, used this turmoil to unite their forces and won an important military victory outside of Kyoto against Tokugawa forces.

In 1868, imperial "restoration" was declared, and the Shogunate was dissolved. A new constitution described the Emperor as "the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty", whose rights included to sanction and promulgate laws, to execute them and to exercise "supreme command of the Army and the Navy". The liaison conference created in 1893 also made the Emperor the leader of the Imperial General Headquarters.

Current constitution

The constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights. Under its terms the Emperor of Japan is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" and exercises a purely ceremonial role without the possession of sovereignty.

The constitution, also known as the or the , was drawn up under the Allied occupation that followed World War II and was intended to replace Japan's previous militaristic and absolute monarchy system with a form of liberal democracy. Currently, it is a rigid document and no subsequent amendment has been made to it since its adoption.

==Addressing and naming== There are two Japanese words equivalent to the English word "emperor": ''tennō'' (天皇, lit. "heavenly sovereign"), which is used exclusively to refer to an emperor of Japan, and ''kōtei'' (皇帝, the title used for Chinese emperors), which is used primarily to describe non-Japanese emperors. ''Sumeramikoto'' (lit. "the Imperial person") was also used in Old Japanese. The term ''tennō'' was used by the emperors up until the Middle Ages; then, following a period of disuse, it was used again from the 19th century. In English, the term ''mikado'' (御門 or 帝 or みかど), literally meaning "the honorable gate" (i.e. the gate of the imperial place, which indicates the person who lives and possesses the place), was once used (as in ''The Mikado'', a 19th century operetta), but this term is now obsolete. (Compare Sublime Porte, an old term for the Ottoman government.)

Traditionally, the Japanese considered it disrespectful to call any person by his given name, and more so for a person of noble rank. This convention is more relaxed in modern age and now it is acceptable among friends to use the given name, but use of the family name is still common. In the case of the imperial family, it is still considered inappropriate to use the given name. Since Emperor Meiji, it has been customary to have one era per emperor and to rename each emperor after his death using the name of the era over which he presided, plus the word ''Tennō''. Prior to Emperor Meiji, the names of the eras were changed more frequently, and the posthumous names of the emperors were chosen in a different manner.

Outside of Japan, beginning with Emperor Shōwa, the emperors are often referred to by their given names, both whilst alive and posthumously. For example, the previous emperor is usually called Hirohito in English, although he was never referred to as Hirohito in Japan, and was renamed ''Shōwa Tennō'' after his death, which is the only name that Japanese speakers currently use when referring to him.

The current emperor on the throne is typically referred to by the title ''Tennō Heika'' (天皇陛下, literally "His Majesty the heavenly sovereign") or ''Kinjō Heika'' (今上陛下, literally "his current majesty") or simply ''Tennō'' when speaking Japanese. Other terms used to refer to the emperor in Japanese include ''Heika'' and ''Okami'', but these are much less typical than ''Tennō Heika'' or ''Kinjō Heika'' in ordinary conversation. The current Emperor will be renamed ''Heisei Tennō'' (平成天皇) after his death and will then be referred to exclusively by that name in Japanese. Non-Japanese speakers typically refer to him now as Akihito, or "Emperor Akihito", and will likely continue to do so after his death.

Origin of the title

The ruler of Japan was known as either 大和大王/大君 (Yamato-ōkimi, Grand King of Yamato), 倭王/倭国王 (''Wa-ō''/''Wakoku-ō'', King of Wa, used externally), or 治天下大王 (''ame-no-shita shiroshimesu ōkimi'' or ''sumera no mikoto'', Grand King who rules all under heaven, used internally) in Japanese and Chinese sources prior to the 7th century. The oldest documented use of the word "tennō" is on a wooden slat, or ''mokkan'', that was unearthed in Asuka-mura, Nara Prefecture in 1998 and dated back to the reign of Emperor Temmu and Empress Jitō.

Marriage traditions

Throughout history, Japanese emperors and noblemen appointed the position of chief wife, rather than just keeping a harem or an assortment of female attendants.

The Japanese imperial dynasty consistently practiced official polygamy, a practice that only ended in the Taishō period (1912–1926). Besides the empress, the emperor could take, and nearly always took, several secondary consorts ("concubines") of various hierarchical degrees. Concubines were allowed also to other dynasts (shinno, o). After a decision decreed by Emperor Ichijō, some emperors even had two empresses simultaneously (''kōgō'' and ''chugu'' are the two separate titles for that situation). With the help of all this polygamy, the imperial clan thus was capable of producing more offspring. (Sons by secondary consorts were usually recognized as imperial princes, too, and could be recognized as heir to the throne if the empress did not give birth to an heir.)

Of the eight female tennō (reigning empress) of Japan, none married or gave birth after ascending the throne. Some of them, being widows, had produced children prior to their reigns.

In the succession, children of the empress were preferred over sons of secondary consorts. Thus it was significant which quarters had preferential opportunities in providing chief wives to imperial princes, i.e. supplying future empresses.

Apparently the oldest tradition of official marriages within the imperial dynasty were marriages between dynasty members, even half-siblings or uncle and niece. Such marriages were deemed to preserve better the imperial blood or were aimed at producing children symbolic of a reconciliation between two branches of the imperial dynasty. Daughters of others than imperials remained concubines, until Emperor Shōmu—in what was specifically reported as the first elevation of its kind—elevated his Fujiwara consort Empress Kōmyō to chief wife.

Japanese monarchs have been, as much as others elsewhere, dependent on making alliances with powerful chiefs and other monarchs. Many such alliances were sealed by marriages. The specific feature in Japan has been the fact that these marriages have been soon incorporated as elements of tradition which controlled the marriages of later generations, though the original practical alliance had lost its real meaning. A repeated pattern has been an imperial son-in-law under the influence of his powerful non-imperial father-in-law.

Beginning from the 7th and 8th centuries, emperors primarily took women of the Fujiwara clan as their highest wives—the most probable mothers of future monarchs. This was cloaked as a tradition of marriage between heirs of two kamis, Shinto gods: descendants of Amaterasu with descendants of the family kami of the Fujiwara. (Originally, the Fujiwara were descended from relatively minor nobility, thus their kami is an unremarkable one in the Japanese myth world.) To produce imperial children, heirs of the nation, with two-side descent from the two kamis, was regarded as desirable—or at least it suited powerful Fujiwara lords, who thus received preference in the imperial marriage market. The reality behind such marriages was an alliance between an imperial prince and a Fujiwara lord, his father-in-law or grandfather, the latter with his resources supporting the prince to the throne and most often controlling the government. These arrangements created the tradition of regents (Sessho and Kampaku), with these positions allowed to be held only by a Fujiwara sekke lord.

Earlier, the emperors had married women from families of the government-holding Soga lords, and women of the imperial clan itself, i.e. various-degree cousins and often even their own sisters (half-sisters). Several imperials of the 5th and 6th centuries such as Prince Shōtoku were children of a couple of half-siblings. These marriages often were alliance or succession devices: the Soga lord ensured the domination of a prince, to be put as puppet to the throne; or a prince ensured the combination of two imperial descents, to strengthen his own and his children's claim to the throne. Marriages were also a means to seal a reconciliation between two imperial branches.

After a couple of centuries, emperors could no longer take anyone from outside such families as primary wife, no matter what the expediency of such a marriage and power or wealth brought by such might have been. Only very rarely was a prince without a mother of descent from such families allowed to ascend the throne. The earlier necessity and expediency had mutated into a strict tradition that did not allow for current expediency or necessity, but only dictated that daughters of a restricted circle of families were eligible brides, because they had produced eligible brides for centuries. Tradition had become more forceful than law.

Fujiwara women were often Empresses, and concubines came from less exalted noble families. In the last thousand years, sons of an imperial male and a Fujiwara woman have been preferred in the succession.

The five Fujiwara families, Ichijo, Kujo, Nijo, Konoe and Takatsukasa, were the primary source of imperial brides from the 8th century to the 19th century, even more often than daughters of the imperial clan itself. Fujiwara daughters were thus the usual empresses and mothers of emperors.

The acceptable source of imperial wives, brides for the emperor and crown prince, were even legislated into the Meiji-era imperial house laws (1889), which stipulated that daughters of Sekke (the five main branches of the higher Fujiwara) and daughters of the imperial clan itself were primarily acceptable brides.

Since that law was repealed in the aftermath of World War II, the present Emperor Akihito became the first crown prince for over a thousand years to have an empress outside the previously eligible circle.

Succession

The Japanese imperial dynasty bases its position in the expression that it has "reigned since time immemorial" (万世一系 ''bansei ikkei''). It is true that its origins are buried in the mists of time: there are no records of any emperor who was not said to have been a descendant of other, yet earlier emperors. There is suspicion that Emperor Keitai (c. 500 AD) may have been an unrelated outsider, though the sources state that he was a male-line descendant of Emperor Ōjin. However, his descendants, including his successors, were according to records descended from at least one and probably several imperial princesses of the older lineage. The tradition built by those legends has chosen to recognize just the putative male ancestry as valid for legitimizing his succession, not giving any weight to ties through the said princesses. Millennia ago, the Japanese imperial family developed its own peculiar system of hereditary succession. It has been non-primogenitural, more or less agnatic, based mostly on rotation. Today, Japan uses strict agnatic primogeniture, which was adopted from Prussia, by which Japan was greatly influenced in the 1870s.

The controlling principles and their interaction were apparently very complex and sophisticated, leading to even idiosyncratic outcomes. Some chief principles apparent in the succession have been:

Women were allowed to succeed (but there existed no known children of theirs whose father did not also happen to be an agnate of the imperial house, thus there is neither a precedent that a child of an imperial woman with a non-imperial man could inherit, nor a precedent forbidding it for children of empresses). However, female accession was clearly much more rare than male.

Adoption was possible and a much used way to increase the number of succession-entitled heirs (however, the adopted child had to be a child of another member agnate of the imperial house).

Abdication was used very often, and in fact occurred more often than death on the throne. In those days, the emperor's chief task was priestly (or godly), containing so many repetitive rituals that it was deemed that after a service of around ten years, the incumbent deserved pampered retirement as an honored former emperor.

Primogeniture was not used—rather, in the early days, the imperial house practised something resembling a system of rotation. Very often a brother (or sister) followed the elder sibling even in the case of the predecessor leaving children. The "turn" of the next generation came more often after several individuals of the senior generation. Rotation went often between two or more of the branches of the imperial house, thus more or less distant cousins succeeded each other. Emperor Go-Saga even decreed an official alternation between heirs of his two sons, which system continued for a couple of centuries (leading finally to shōgun-induced (or utilized) strife between these two branches, the "southern" and "northern" emperors). Towards the end, the alternates were very distant cousins counted in degrees of male descent (but all that time, intermarriages occurred within the imperial house, thus they were close cousins if female ties are counted). During the past five hundred years, however, probably due to Confucian influence, inheritance by sons — but not always, or even most often, the eldest son—has been the norm.

Historically, the succession to Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne has always passed to descendants in male line from the imperial lineage. Generally they have been males, though of the over one hundred monarchs there have been nine women (one pre-historical and eight historical) as Emperor on eleven occasions. See the male line of the Yamato dynasty.

Over a thousand years ago, a tradition started that an emperor should ascend relatively young. A dynast who had passed his toddler years was regarded suitable and old enough. Reaching the age of legal majority was not a requirement. Thus, a multitude of Japanese emperors have ascended as children, as young as 6 or 8 years old. The high-priestly duties were deemed possible for a walking child. A reign of around ten years was regarded a sufficient service. Being a child was apparently a fine property, to better endure tedious duties and to tolerate subjugation to political power-brokers, as well as sometimes to cloak the truly powerful members of the imperial dynasty. Almost all Japanese empresses and dozens of emperors abdicated, and lived the rest of their lives in pampered retirement, wielding influence behind the scenes. Several emperors abdicated to their entitled retirement while still in their teens. These traditions show in Japanese folklore, theater, literature and other forms of culture, where the emperor is usually described or depicted as an adolescent.

Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan had eleven reigns of reigning empresses, all of them daughters of the male line of the Imperial House. None ascended purely as a wife or as a widow of an emperor. Imperial daughters and granddaughters, however, usually ascended the throne as a sort of a "stop gap" measure—if a suitable male was not available or some imperial branches were in rivalry so that a compromise was needed. Over half of Japanese empresses and many emperors abdicated once a suitable male descendant was considered to be old enough to rule (just past toddlerhood, in some cases). Four empresses, Empress Suiko, Empress Kōgyoku (also Empress Saimei) and Empress Jitō, as well as the mythical Empress Jingū, were widows of deceased emperors and princesses of the blood imperial in their own right. One, Empress Gemmei, was the widow of a crown prince and a princess of the blood imperial. The other four, Empress Genshō, Empress Kōken (also Empress Shōtoku), Empress Meishō and Empress Go-Sakuramachi, were unwed daughters of previous emperors. None of these empresses married or gave birth after ascending the throne.

Article 2 of the 1889 Meiji Constitution (the Constitution of the Empire of Japan) stated, "The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by imperial male descendants, according to the provisions of the Imperial House Law." The 1889 Imperial Household Law fixed the succession on male descendants of the imperial line, and specifically excluded female descendants from the succession. In the event of a complete failure of the main line, the throne would pass to the nearest collateral branch, again in the male line. If the empress did not give birth to an heir, the emperor could take a concubine, and the son he had by that concubine would be recognized as heir to the throne. This law, which was promulgated on the same day as the Meiji Constitution, enjoyed co-equal status with that constitution.

Article 2 of the Constitution of Japan, promulgated in 1947 by influence of the U.S. occupation administration and still in force, provides that "The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial Household Law passed by the Diet." The Imperial Household Law of 16 January 1947, enacted by the ninety-second and last session of the Imperial Diet, retained the exclusion on female dynasts found in the 1889 law. The government of Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru hastily cobbled together the legislation to bring the Imperial Household in compliance with the American-written Constitution of Japan that went into effect in May 1947. In an effort to control the size of the imperial family, the law stipulates that only legitimate male descendants in the male line can be dynasts; that imperial princesses lose their status as Imperial Family members if they marry outside the Imperial Family; and that the Emperor and other members of the Imperial Family may not adopt children. It also prevented branches, other than the branch descending from Taishō, from being imperial princes any longer.

Current status

Succession is now regulated by laws passed by the Japanese Diet. The current law excludes women from the succession. A change to this law had been considered until Princess Kiko gave birth to a son.

Until the birth of Prince Hisahito, son of Prince Akishino, on September 6, 2006, there was a potential succession problem, since Prince Akishino was the only male child to be born into the imperial family since 1965. Following the birth of Princess Aiko, there was public debate about amending the current Imperial Household Law to allow women to succeed to the throne. In January 2005 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed a special panel composed of judges, university professors, and civil servants to study changes to the Imperial Household Law and to make recommendations to the government.

The panel dealing with the succession issue recommended on October 25, 2005 amending the law to allow females of the male line of imperial descent to ascend the Japanese throne. On January 20, 2006, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi devoted part of his annual keynote speech to the controversy, pledging to submit a bill allowing women to ascend the throne to ensure that the succession continues in the future in a stable manner. Shortly after the announcement that Princess Kiko was pregnant with her third child, Koizumi suspended such plans. Her son, Prince Hisahito, is the third in line to the throne under the current law of succession. On January 3, 2007, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that he would drop the proposal to alter the Imperial Household Law.

See also

Politics of Japan

Notes

References

Asakawa, Kan'ichi (1903). ''The Early Institutional Life of Japan''. Tokyo: Shueisha. ; ''see'' online, multi-formated, full-text book at openlibrary.org Screech, Timon (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822.'' London: RoutledgeCurzon. ; .

External links

Japan opens imperial tombs for research

The Imperial Household Agency

List of the Emperors, accompanied with the regents and shoguns during their reign and a genealogical tree of the imperial family

The Emperor of Japan, explanation of the title of emperor in the context of western terminology

Category:Deified people Category:History of Japan Category:Japanese Shintoists

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