"The annual salary of the Emperor of Japan is 90 million yuan. I want to join this class too!" This is a message left by a netizen after swiping a video of the Emperor's work. Everyone originally thought that the Emperor could take money when he was lying flat, until they saw him taking a special bus to the "Chrysanthemum" office at nine o'clock every day. As soon as he sat down, he began to approve documents, stamped with the word "view" to indicate that he had read it, and the word "recognize" to verify it. The word "can" agreed, and even the five-pound royal seal had to be moved by attendants.
Recently, in the Imperial House of Chiang Mai, Tokyo, the day of the Emperor began at nine o’clock in the morning. He was dressed in dark clothes and came out of the courtyard of the residence, waiting for the servant to pick him up from the bus to the “Chiang Mai” office, which was hanging the chickpeas, was his “main battlefield”.
He picked up the "Lan" stamp and stamped it on the documents he had read; If certification is required, change the "recognition" seal; Only if you agree, use the word "can". There are also two imperial seals and national seals weighing five pounds beside them. Every time they are stamped, they have to be moved by attendants.
At the end of the cabinet meeting every Wednesday, the number of papers doubled, and he often overworked until seven o’clock in the evening.More reluctantly, he could not resign like ordinary workers, and the royal family stipulated that unless removed, he would have to work to death.
Just last week, Emperor Djerin handled a special document, the Okinawa County’s application for the restoration of the “King’s Grave Sacrifice” report. He looked closely at the historical data and confirmed that it was in accordance with the royal regulations, only to cover the “Yes” letter. The Palace then revealed that this was the 187th document he handled this year, spending an average of 3 hours a day on approval.
The expenses of the royal family in 2024 were also revealed: the court cost 6.5 billion yen (about RMB 3.2 billion), mainly for the repair of the royal palace and hospitality; the court fee of 3.4 billion yen, of which the electricity fee of 15 million yen, the salary of the chef team accounted for 8 million.
Emperor Naruhito's work is actually more "trivial" than everyone thinks: he participates in about 150 official activities every year, such as the "New Year Prayer Festival" in spring and the "God Tasting Festival" in autumn. He wears traditional costumes and performs three kneels and nine kowtowing ceremonies. He also has to approve about 1000 documents, 80% of which are "formal", such as the Prime Minister's appointment letter, which he must sign and has no right of objection.
In addition, among the royal family's expenses, the "palace expenses" are mainly used for official duties: in 2024, 6.5 billion yen was spent on the maintenance of the palace, because most of the buildings in the imperial palace are from the Meiji period and need to be renovated regularly; the "internal court expenses" are for the emperor's family. Of the 324 million yen, the "chef team" alone accounts for 10%. There are 26 chefs who cook different dishes every day, such as Monday and Niusukiyaki, Tuesday sashimi platter, and Wednesday. Compared with the Queen of England, the Emperor of Japan has less real power: the Queen of England can "advise" the Prime Minister, while the Emperor of Japan cannot even "advise" and can only sign.
Looking at the story of the Japanese Emperor, suddenly felt that "envy" is a very meaningless thing, you envy his high salary, but did not see him to approve a few hundred documents; you envy his identity, but did not see him even resign. Instead of staring at the "light" of others, it is better to take a good look at your life: at least we can choose to change work, can leave the job, can scream the boss "inside".