The government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has approved a bill to address the declining membership of the Imperial Household, allowing the adoption of male descendants from ancient dynastic branches and letting princesses to retain their titles after marriage. However, the possibility of Princess Aiko becoming empress is still ruled out, despite the approval of 83 per cent of Japanese people.
Tokyo (AsiaNews) – The Japanese government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi today approved a bill to address the progressive downsizing of the imperial family, without, however, calling into question one of its most controversial principles: male-line patrilineal succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
This decision excludes Princess Aiko, Emperor Naruhito’s only daughter, from becoming head of state, despite her being one of the most popular figures in the imperial family, enjoying the approval of the majority of Japanese.
The measure – which the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its allies aim to pass by 17 July, the end of the current parliamentary session – seeks to address an increasingly pressing issue.
The imperial family currently numbers just 16 members, down from 67 after the war, and only three individuals could ascend the throne: Crown Prince Fumihito, Emperor Naruhito’s younger brother; his 19-year-old son, Prince Hisahito; and Prince Hitachi, the emperor’s ninety-year-old uncle.
The reduction in family members also makes it increasingly harder to carry out the hundreds of public engagements, religious ceremonies, and official visits that constitute the emperor’s primary role, which, according to the 1947 constitution, is “the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people”.
To address the situation, the government has proposed two amendments to the Imperial Household Law.
The first would allow princesses to retain their imperial status even after marrying a commoner. Currently, every female member of the imperial family automatically loses her title and leaves the Imperial Household when she marries.
The second measure is even more controversial since it would allow the imperial family to adopt men at least 15 years old, descendants through the male line of the eleven collateral branches of the imperial dynasty who were stripped of their status in 1947 during the US occupation of Japan. While they themselves cannot become emperor, their potential male children would be eligible for succession.
This plan reflects the conservative stance backed by Prime Minister Takaichi, the first woman to head the Japanese government, but also one of the most ardent supporters of an exclusively male succession. For the LDP leader, in fact, the continuity of the paternal line represents the very foundation of the legitimacy of the imperial institution.
The issue is deeply divisive among politicians and ordinary Japanese. According to a poll conducted by Kyodo News in May, 83 per cent of Japanese people support allowing a woman to become empress. This position is also supported by the opposition and many scholars.
At the heart of the debate is inevitably the figure of Princess Aiko, 24. The only child of Naruhito and Empress Masako, she has assumed in recent years a leading role in the imperial family’s official activities and has become one of the country’s most respected personalities. Current legislation, however, bars her from any possibility of succession.
The controversy has escalated in recent days following statements by Hirofumi Nakasone, a former foreign minister and now head of the LDP group in charge of constitutional reform.
According to the conservative politician, the princess’s accession to the throne would be “out of the question,” and if she were to become empress, “there would be no one willing to marry her” due to the enormous pressures that would be placed on her husband and the obligation to produce a male heir.
His words have drawn strong criticism from the opposition and gender equality organisations.
Several commentators also doubt whether the reform would truly solve the problem in the long term.
It is unclear how many men from the ancient family branches would be willing to give up their private lives to submit to the rigid discipline of the Imperial Household, nor how the public might react towards people who lived as commoners for nearly 80 years.