Japan Diet Leaders OK Draft Proposal for Imperial Succession

Tokyo, June 5 (Jiji Press)–The leaders and vice leaders of both chambers of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, adopted a draft proposal Friday to secure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members for stable Imperial succession. The draft, which would represent a consensus of the legislative branch if approved, was shown to political parties the same day. It will be officially presented at a general meeting of 13 parties and parliamentary groups to be held Monday. It calls on the government to design a new system and revise the Imperial House Law so that female members of the Imperial Family maintain their Imperial status after marriage and that the Imperial Family can adopt male heirs in the male line from former Imperial Family branches. The four parliamentary leaders held discussions to draw up the draft. Of the two measures, the one calling for adoption has won support from the Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling camp, while the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has shown reluctance to support the measure. Eisuke Mori, speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, aims to realize the revision of the law during the current Diet session ending in July. He hopes to form the consensus of the legislature at a general meeting expected to be held within the week after Monday’s gathering. If approval is given by the parties and parliamentary groups, the two chambers’ leaders and vice leaders will report the consensus to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Considering that current female members of the Imperial Family are living under the current system, the draft states, “Certain consideration should be given, such as respecting their wishes,” regarding the maintenance of their status. It does not specify whether spouses and children would hold Imperial status. The draft also calls for a specific system design to adopt male members in the paternal line of 11 former Imperial Family branches back into the family. The 11 Imperial Family branches left the family in October 1947. Based on a proposal by the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance and others, it also urges the system to be reviewed every few years as needed. It demands careful design of the system, citing issues such as the target age for those to be adopted and the eligibility of Imperial succession for adopted individuals. The draft is in line with a report presented by an expert panel in December 2021. The report said that the process in which Prince Hisahito, the only son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, succeeds to the Imperial throne must be ensured, and the draft proposal follows this view. As past general meetings focused on measures to secure the number of Imperial Family members, the draft requests political parties and parliamentary groups to consider measures to secure stable Imperial succession in a supplementary resolution at the Diet. It also asks them to confirm that appropriate measures are taken in a timely way when deemed necessary even after the revision of the Imperial House Law. “I believe we’ve created the best possible proposal, sufficiently taking into account the views of parties and parliamentary groups,” Mori told reporters at the Lower House speaker’s official residence. Among opposition parties, the Democratic Party for the People, Komeito, and Sanseito on Friday expressed their general support for the draft proposal. The CDP criticized the short timeframe for compiling the proposal, while the Japanese Communist Party opposed it. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]