FOCUS: Japan Diet Proposal on Imperial Family Sidesteps Key Questions

Tokyo, June 10 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s political parties adopted Wednesday a proposal on measures to secure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members but postponed substantive discussions on a difficult issue–how to ensure stable Imperial succession. The proposal, drawn up by the leaders and vice leaders of both chambers of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, and regarded as the consensus of the country’s legislative branch, contains only measures on which ruling and opposition parties can make easy compromises. Talks on topics such as the controversial issue of whether to allow the country to have female emperors or emperors from the maternal line of the Imperial Family were put on the back burner for the sake of reaching an agreement. The issues are all but certain to surface after the government starts work on designing detailed systems for the measures in the consensus proposal. The Imperial House Law stipulates that the Imperial throne shall be succeeded by “a male offspring in the male line belonging to the Imperial lineage.” No Conclusion on Spouses, Children The Diet’s consensus proposal calls for the government to legislate two measures–one for allowing female members of the Imperial Family to retain their Imperial status after marriage and the other for adopting male members in the paternal line of former Imperial Family branches back into the family. These steps may serve as stopgaps to curb the decrease in Imperial Family members, but are widely viewed as far from being fundamental solutions to the issue of stable Imperial succession. Almost all parties supported allowing female members to stay in the Imperial Family and continue their official duties after marriage, but they postponed a conclusion on whether their spouses and children would hold the Imperial Family status. If the spouses and children are not given the status, that would result in there being both Imperial Family members and ordinary citizens in one household. Yoshihiko Noda of the major opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, who sought to create a system allowing the establishment of Imperial Family branches led by female members when he was prime minister in the early 2010s, argued that such an arrangement would be “extremely unnatural.” Furthermore, if spouses and children are to be ordinary citizens, they would have the freedom of engaging in political activities, raising concerns about the Imperial Family being used for political purposes. Meanwhile, giving spouses and children Imperial Family status is certain to draw the ire of conservatives, including those in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as it could pave the way for those from the maternal Imperial Family line to become emperors. Risk of Unconstitutionality Future discussions regarding ways to secure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members are likely to center on a plan to allow adoptions into the family only for male members in the paternal line of the 11 branches that left the family in October 1947, about two years after the end of World War II. Japanese constitutional scholar Akira Momochi said at a government meeting of experts in 2021, “There are at least 10 unmarried men in their 20s or younger in the paternal line of four (of the 11) branches.” However, the Japanese government takes the position that it cannot conduct a survey in advance on such men because the current Imperial House Law prohibits adoption. It will hammer out details of related procedures in the future, such as confirming the number of men who can be adopted into the Imperial Family and whether they want to be adopted. Although people from the former Imperial Family branches, who are now ordinary citizens, are believed to have exchanges with the Imperial Family, it is unclear whether a plan that would make such people members of the family would obtain public understanding. Some argue that limiting the scope of potential adoptees to those from former Imperial Family branches violates the Constitution’s Article 14, which prohibits discrimination based on family origin. “It may open up many lawsuits over the unconstitutionality of the measure across the country,” an LDP official said. Not Backing Down on Paternal Line Discussions on securing a sufficient number of Imperial Family members gained steam after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office last October, announced a policy of revising the Imperial House Law. She has argued for maintaining the principle of patrilineal Imperial succession. Regarding the proposed adoption option, Eisuke Mori, speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower Diet chamber, and from the LDP, told a press conference Monday that a male child of an adoptee would have the right to succeed the Imperial throne. This is in line with the position of lawmakers in the ruling party who seek to maintain patrilineal Imperial succession but was not included in the Diet leaders’ draft of the consensus proposal, forcing him to walk back the remark amid pushback from opposition parties. “Mori must have expressed his true intention,” a senior LDP official said. The latest round of ruling-opposition talks on the Imperial Family, which began in 2024, was able to reach a conclusion, after the Noda cabinet and the cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who was in office in 2001-2006, failed in such efforts. Takaichi “must be satisfied,” a source in the prime minister’s office said. In a meeting of political parties Wednesday, Hiroyuki Nagahama, former vice president of the House of Councillors, the upper Diet chamber, and a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition force in the Upper House, called for discussions on allowing female emperors. “What is the reason why the emperor must be a man? I propose that the ruling and opposition parties spur national debate,” he argued. Takaichi remained cautious, saying, “The time is not ripe for discussions (on emperors) after Prince Hisahito.” It is unclear when and how discussions on the shelved topics will advance. The 19-year-old prince is second in line to the Imperial throne after his father, Crown Prince Akishino, 60, the brother of Emperor Naruhito, 66. Strong Sense of Crisis The Imperial Household Agency is strongly concerned about the falling number of Imperial Family members. The decrease is due to female members’ marriages and aging of members of the family. There are currently 16 members in the family–five men and 11 women. The agency has a strong sense of crisis about the situation, from the perspective of continuing activities by Imperial Family members, including official duties. Increasing the number of Imperial Family members is “an urgent issue,” an official of the agency said. After 51 people in the 11 Imperial Family branches left the family in October 1947, the number of members of the family started to decrease since peaking at 26 in 1994, when Princess Kako, 31, the second daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, was born. Prince Hisahito is the youngest of the current 16 members, and there is no minor member in the family. Under the circumstances, female members, including Princess Kako and Princess Aiko, the 24-year-old daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, are playing key roles in performing official duties. Princess Aiko is performing official duties while working at the Japanese Red Cross Society. Last year, she made a solo visit to areas hit by the January 2024 powerful earthquake in the Noto Peninsula in central Japan, as well as an official visit to Laos. Princess Kako continues official duties using sign language. She visited Brazil last year. If the Imperial House Law is revised based on the Diet’s consensus proposal on securing a sufficient number of Imperial Family members, female members would be allowed to stay in the family while retaining the Imperial Family status. “Female members would be able to continue their activities, including those performed as heads of organizations,” a senior official of the agency said. Still, the situation remains unstable regarding patrilineal Imperial succession. “If Prince Hisahito marries in the future, his partner would come under enormous pressure to give birth to a boy,” an agency official said. “We will do our best to resolve issues by fully taking thoughts of members of the Imperial Family into consideration,” Buichiro Kuroda, head of the agency, said at a regular press conference May 28. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]