Yomiuri Shimbun Proposals for Stable Imperial Succession
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Emperor, Empress and other Imperial Family members attend a spring garden party in Motoakasaka, Tokyo, on April 22.
Ensure hereditary descent based on Constitution
Crown Prince Akishino's only son, Prince Hisahito, is the youngest heir to the Imperial throne. Prior to Prince Hisahito's birth, the most recent male member born into the Imperial family had been Prince Akishino himself, 41 years earlier. Nine female members were born during the same period, but the Imperial House Law stipulates that only male descendants from the male line are eligible to ascend to the throne. The Imperial succession is facing a critical situation: If Prince Hisahito does not go on to marry a woman and have a son of his own, the Imperial lineage that has lasted 126 generations may cease to exist.
Under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the government started to consider measures to ensure the stable continuation of the Imperial lineage. In 2005, a committee of experts compiled a plan permitting accession by descendants from the female line. However, Prince Hisahito was born in 2006, and plans for revising the Imperial House Law were shelved. The administrations of former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, in 2012, Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida, both in 2021, discussed the matter but failed to reach a conclusion, as opinions were split between those who insisted on maintaining the male lineage and those who wanted to allow succession by descendants of the female lineage.
The critical situation is even affecting Imperial family members' activities. In the last 20 years, four female members got married and gave up their Imperial status as stipulated by the law, and four other family members died. Now there are 16 members, down from 23 in 2005.
The family currently includes five unmarried female members, all of whom are above the age of 20, making them old enough to get married. Six members are older than 70, including the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita, who have already retired from public service. Practical steps need to be taken soon to secure the continuation of the Imperial family line.
The biggest common point in the discussions over the past 20 years has been institutional stability. To achieve this, discussions based on the fundamental principle of 'The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic' as clearly stated in the Constitution need to take top priority.
The Imperial House Law, which limits the Imperial succession to the male lineage, is subordinate to the Constitution, which is this country's supreme law, giving the Diet the power to revise it. The ruling and opposition blocs should set aside the 'male line or female line' issue that causes division of opinions and instead focus on maintaining the hereditary system. They should show their best wisdom in their discussions on how to achieve this.
Prince Hisahito reached adulthood in September 2024, when he turned 18. Assuming he will get married someday, the pressure any future wife of his would face to give birth to a boy could be an obstacle to the marriage itself.
It is necessary to remember that the Empress was put in a position where she was under this kind of pressure and her health deteriorated. The Imperial family members are human. The government should work hard to establish sustainable measures that will not burden them physically or emotionally.
People's support key to continuing system
A point that must not be missed in discussions of measures for maintaining the Imperial succession is the preservation of the philosophy, which a majority of citizens support, that the Emperor is a symbol of the Japanese state.
A supplementary resolution to the special law enacted in 2017 on abdication of the throne has requested the Diet to reach a 'legislative consensus' on that matter. For that purpose, the ruling and opposition parties are currently holding discussions chaired by the heads of the two houses of the Diet.
Behind this request is the public belief that the position of an emperor as a symbol of the state, which was built up by the Emperor Emeritus, should be stably passed on to future holders of the throne.
In 2016, the Emperor Emeritus, then the Emperor, expressed his thoughts on the role of an emperor, stating that he would have no choice but to abdicate if he could not fulfill his duty to 'stand by the people, listen to their voices and be close to them in their thoughts' and also 'pray for the peace and happiness of all the people.'
Some experts suggested that 'The existence of the Emperor itself is important,' or that 'If he cannot fulfill his duties, a regent should be appointed.' But the people of the nation supported the Emperor Emeritus' views: A Yomiuri Shimbun public opinion poll showed that 81% of the respondents approved of his abdication. A poll conducted in 2020 after the current Emperor's succession to the throne saw that 80% were in favor of the current practice of recognizing an emperor as a symbol of the state.
The origins of this symbolic image can be traced back to Emperor Showa's visits to places around the country over the course of 8½ years, starting the year after World War II ended. Emperor Showa, who had been revered as a living deity before and during the war, visited repatriated soldiers, war orphans and people engaged in agriculture and industry, and his actions became a symbol of post-war reconstruction. At the time of his passing away in 1989, The Yomiuri Shimbun published a testimony of a 76-year-old man who said, 'I could see holes in the soles of His Majesty's shoes' during his visit to a welfare facility in 1947.
The current Emperor Emeritus visited Okinawa Prefecture — where his father had been unable to go after the war — 11 times, toured the sites of terrible battles inside and outside Japan and dedicated himself to mourning the war dead. He repeatedly visited victims of successive major earthquakes and floods, expressing his wishes for a recovery. The image of an emperor as a symbol of the nation, sharing the joys and sorrows of the people, has been passed down to the Emperor, Crown Prince Akishino and Prince Hisahito.
There has been a suggestion that male descendants of male lines of 11 former Imperial family branches that lost their status after WWII should be adopted into the Imperial family.
But it is doubtful if the bonds between the people and the emperors who have served as symbols of the nation, which have been woven over nearly 80 years since the end of the war, would be inherited by people who have lived as commoners during that time.
There is also discussion of asking male adoptees to marry female Imperial family members, but this is not an issue that should be decided without regard for the individuals' wishes. It also contradicts the constitutional provision that marriages shall be based only on the mutual consent of both parties.
In the past, when an emperor lived surrounded by a small circle of powerful individuals, decisions about the Imperial line were made within that circle. The modern Imperial system is based on the will of the people. Any measures taken must respect and maintain the people's image of what an emperor should be.
Female Imperial branches needed to maintain duties
A proposal to allow women in the Imperial family to retain their Imperial status after marrying commoners, and to establish female Imperial branches, is expected to receive support from both the ruling and opposition parties.
A Yomiuri Shimbun opinion poll conducted in March and April found that 55% of respondents favored allowing women to remain in the Imperial family after marriage, while 7% were opposed. Female members of the Imperial family are indispensable for its continuation.
The number of men in the Imperial family has been declining since the death of Prince Takamatsu in 1987, and there are now only five men, a low for the post-World War II era.
At major Imperial events, such as Imperial banquets and garden parties, Crown Prince Akishino is the sole male family member consistently present to support the Emperor. Nevertheless, Imperial activities have continued without issue, mainly due to the help of the women.
At this spring's garden party, the Imperial family's procession was divided into three routes, and there was a designated area where unmarried women in the family greeted attendees. These women are potential heads of female Imperial branches, which could make the Imperial lineage more stable.
There are currently five unmarried women in the Imperial family. Two of these are naishinno princesses: Princess Aiko, daughter of the Emperor and Empress, and Princess Kako, the second daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko. A naishinno is a daughter or granddaughter of an emperor.
Additionally, there are three joo princesses: Princess Akiko of Mikasa, Princess Yoko of Mikasa and Princess Tsuguko of Takamado. Great-granddaughters of an emperor and those further down the family line are given the joo title.
'Since I was young, I have observed the Imperial family members empathizing with the public and diligently performing their official duties,' Princess Aiko said three years ago at her coming-of-age press conference. She was articulating an experience common among naishinno and joo princesses.
Princess Aiko also expressed a belief that the most important thing was to 'always wish for the well-being of the people, to share their joys and hardships, and to fulfill our responsibilities,' a spirit that was conveyed to her father by the Emperor Emeritus.
Two decades ago, there were discussions about whether Princess Nori, now Sayako Kuroda, could stay in the Imperial family when she married. 'We had hoped that Princess Nori, the eldest daughter of the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita, would remain in the Imperial family after her marriage to support her parents, but that did not happen,' lamented a former senior official for the Imperial Household Agency.
Women in the Imperial family, who have learned the significance of serving the public through their close relatives and who have served the public themselves, should be able to fill the role of Imperial branch head admirably.
However, the Imperial House Law mandates that naishinno and joo princesses become private citizens following marriage.
There is also a separate provision that allows naishinno and joo age 15 or older to leave the Imperial family of their own accord. A system is needed that allows women to choose whether they remain in the family after marriage.
Natural to allow female branch heads' husbands, children to be Imperial members
It is hoped that the husbands of the female heads of Imperial family branches would also become Imperial family members, to build happy families with their wives and engage in various public activities.
It is natural to take the same approach as with wives of the male heads of Imperial family branches. These women become princesses when they marry.
Relevant marriage procedures would be determined by the Imperial House Council, which would assess whether the prospective spouse was suitable to join the Imperial family. Daily life expenses for Imperial family members would be paid to the husbands, to help them maintain the dignity of their branches.
If the husbands of Imperial family members remained private citizens, it would be difficult to restrict their constitutional right to freedom of choice in employment. It would be undesirable if the husbands' economic activities were related to specific interests or politics, thereby casting doubt on the impartiality and neutrality of the Imperial family.
It is also important from the perspective of public duties for both spouses to be Imperial family members.
Speaking at his first press conference after his accession, the Emperor said the Empress is 'always by my side, offering advice and support as we work together on public duties.'
If a female head of an Imperial family branch succeeds to the Imperial throne, it would mark the ninth instance of a female emperor.
However, the government has no plans to change the order of succession up to Prince Hisahito, the son of Crown Prince Akishino. Under the current circumstances, all unmarried female members are older than Prince Hisahito. Unless their children are recognized as Imperial family members, there will be no way to carry on the Imperial line in a stable manner.
The present Imperial House Law enacted after the World War II stipulates that the Imperial line is limited to 'legitimate' children born to women who became Imperial family members after marrying members of the Imperial family, making it highly difficult to maintain the succession of male offspring in the male line.
According to government documents, out of the 121 emperors prior to Emperor Meiji (reigned 1867-1912), only 66 were born as legitimate children. The remaining 55 were born to concubines and their succession to the Imperial throne was recognized under the law enacted during the Meiji era (1868-1912). But the provision was removed in the present law, as it would not be socially acceptable.
The Imperial family is no exception to the trend of declining birth rates and marrying later in life. It is clear that the system in which only male offspring in the Imperial male line can succeed to the throne will go nowhere.
The total fertility rate, which indicates the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime, was a record low 1.20 in 2023. The environment surrounding the Imperial succession is increasingly serious.
Even if a plan were implemented in which male children from the male line of former Imperial family branches were allowed to return to the family by being adopted by current Imperial members, the number of potential adoptive parents would be extremely limited. The list would exclude the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita, the Emperor and Empress and Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko.
Therefore, there are no clear solutions to the issue of the Imperial succession.
It is hoped that discussions will be held to explore solutions with the precedent of female emperors in mind. It is also hoped that discussions will include the possibility of bringing the husbands and children of female Imperial family members into the Imperial family, as well as the possibility of allowing an emperor from a female line someday.
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