Japan's parliament has passed a one-off bill to allow Emperor Akihito to abdicate, the first emperor to do so in 200 years.
日前，日本议会通过了一份一次性法案，允许明仁天皇退位，他也是近两百年来第一位这么做的天皇。
The 83-year-old said last year that his age and health were making it hard for him to fulfil his official duties.
去年，这位83岁的天皇就称自己的年龄与身体状况使得他的工作愈发吃力。
But there was no provision under existing law for him to stand down.
但是根据现行法律，并没有任何条款能够使他退休。
The government will now begin the process of arranging his abdication, expected to happen in late 2018, and the handover to Crown Prince Naruhito.
政府将从现在开始安排他的退位事宜。他预计会在2018年较晚时候退位，并将其传给皇太子德仁。

Akihito, who has had heart surgery and was treated for prostate cancer, has been on the throne in Japan since the death of his father, Hirohito, in 1989.
明仁天皇已经接受过心脏手术，并曾接受了前列腺癌的治疗。他自从父亲裕仁天皇于1989年去世后就登上了日本天皇的宝座。
The newly passed law says that on abdication, the emperor's 57-year old son, Naruhito, will immediately take the Chrysanthemum Throne, but that neither he nor his successors would be allowed to abdicate under the law.
新通过的法律规定，在退位时，天皇57岁的儿子德仁将立即继承天皇宝座，但他和他的继任者都不会被法律允许退位。
The government is yet to set a date for the abdication, but the bill says it must take place within three years of the law coming into effect. The handover is widely expected take place in December 2018.
政府现在还没有确定确切的退位日期，但是该法令规定，必须在法律生效后的三年内进行。人们普遍预计，交接仪式将于2018年12月举行。