Japanese Emperor Akihito will address the nation next week, the imperial palace said Friday, following reports that the octogenarian wants to abdicate the throne of one of the world's oldest monarchies.

An Imperial Household Agency spokesperson said Akihito's address, via video, would be broadcast at 3:00 pm local time on Monday.

The 82-year-old, who has been suffering from health problems for years, was not expected to announce explicit plans to step down, as he is constitutionally barred from making political statements.

"The emperor will express his feelings regarding his duties as a symbol" of the nation, the spokesperson said.

But Japanese media, including public broadcaster NHK, have widely reported that Akihito would likely hint at his desire to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Major media said last month that Akihito expressed to close advisors that he wanted to pass the throne to his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, in the next few years.

The reports came as a surprise to many in Japan where the last abdication happened in 1817, nearly 200 years ago.

Akihito, who has suffered from prostate cancer and heart problems in recent years, spoke of his growing limitations last year.

He acknowledged making unspecified "mistakes" in his duties, which range from native Shinto religious ceremonies to visiting residents in regions hit by Japan's frequent natural disasters.

Akihito's second son, Prince Akishino, a few years ago suggested that emperors should be allowed to retire.

Kyodo News reported that the video would be uploaded on the Imperial Household Agency's website and also broadcast on television.

The possible abdication is a complicated and sensitive issue in Japan, where current law put in place after World War II making the emperor the "symbol of the state" with no provisions for one to step down. But the highly choreographed event on Monday could well set a process in motion for legal changes that would enable abdication.

According to NHK, the emperor is expected to speak for about 10 minutes.

The mass-circulation Yomiuri newspaper said last week that the government plans to set up a panel of experts to discuss revising the law governing the imperial family system as early as this autumn. The royal household is still greatly respected by most Japanese.

Akihito's father, Hirohito, in whose name Japan's military campaigns of the 20th century were carried out, was treated as a living god until defeat in 1945. He died from cancer in 1989.