Imperial revolution in Japan: Time for a woman emperor?

The Star

18-05-2025

Deeply appreciated: Princess Aiko at the launching ceremony for the Arctic research vessel Mirai II. What many may not know is that Japan has had eight female emperors in the past. — The Yomiuri Shimbun/ANN
THE shrinking number of Japan's imperial family members is a grave problem for the country.
As things stand, only three members are eligible to ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne, and unease about the continuation of the Imperial line simmers on.
Ensuring a stable imperial succession has become a political issue whose resolution can no longer be postponed.
The discussions on a stable succession that are underway between the ruling and opposition parties, led by the heads of both Diet chambers, must reach a consensus during the current Diet session.
The Yomiuri Shimbun is proposing four key points to address and resolve the issue of a stable succession to the throne.
Thirty years ago, the imperial family had 26 members. That number has fallen to 16, including the Emperor, 65.
The three members eligible to ascend to the throne are Crown Prince Akishino, 59; his son Prince Hisahito, 18; and Prince Hitachi, 89, the younger brother of the Emperor Emeritus.
Aside from Prince Hisahito, five imperial family members are unmarried, including Princess Aiko, 23, daughter of the Emperor and Empress; and Princess Kako, 30, second daughter of the crown prince and Crown Princess Kiko. All five are women.
Discussions between the ruling and opposition parties have focused mainly on two proposals – allowing female members of the imperial family to retain their status after marriage, and allowing male children from the male line of former imperial family branches to return to the family by being adopted by current members. The parties aim to wrap up these discussions before this summer's House of Coun-cillors election.
The political parties and their parliamentary groups are largely in agreement on the issue of allowing female imperial family members to retain their status after marriage. However, there are divergent views on whether imperial status should be conferred on the husbands and children of female members. Discussions on this point have reached an impasse.
In particular, members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are concerned that granting imperial status to these husbands and children could one day lead to matrilineal emperors, who are descendants through a female line. This could upend the tradition of imperial succession based on patrilineal descent, which has spanned 126 generations. The party's position is that imperial status should be granted to husbands and sons only in cases in which a female imperial family member has married a man from the male line of a former imperial family branch.
However, continuation of the imperial line is the top priority. Given this, it would be reasonable to allow the establishment of female imperial branches headed by female imperial family members, and to grant imperial status to her husband and children, to stabilise the overall number of imperial family members.
Japan's Imperial House Law, which stipulates the line of succession and other matters related to the imperial family, states that a female member who marries anybody other than a member of the imperial family will lose her status as a family member. This law urgently needs to be revised.
The postwar system that recognises the Emperor as a symbol of the state in Japan and of the unity of the people has taken root among the people. Activities conducted by the imperial family, such as travelling to Pacific War battlefields to console the spirits of the war dead and visiting disaster-hit areas to show support for people in the affected regions, have been deeply respected and admired.
The Imperial House Law stipulates that the throne shall be succeeded to 'by a male offspring in the male line belonging to the Imperial lineage', but the imperial family must not be placed in jeopardy as a result of sticking rigidly to the line of male descent.
Japan has had eight female emperors in the past. To ensure the stable succession of the Imperial family, consideration should be given to realistic approaches such as allowing female emperors and not ruling out the possibility of one day having female-line emperors. The Constitution stipulates only that the Emperor is the 'symbol of the state' and that the Emperor's position is 'dynastic'.
The second core topic of the political discussions – allowing male children from the male line of former Imperial family branches to return to the family – has raised considerable apprehension.
It remains unclear whether the public would support a change that enables people who had been living as regular citizens to become imperial family members.
This issue requires careful consideration. — The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network