So as I understand it, Hirohito became known as the Emperor Showa after he died, taking the name of the era in which he ruled. Does this renaming also apply when an emperor abdicates instead of dying, and what will Akihito be known as?
The current period is called Heisei (literally means the peaceful era). It will end when Akihito abdicates, but I don’t know if he’ll be named with that name.