Tokyo, Sept. 29 (Jiji Press)–Amendments to Japan’s 1947 Imperial House Law will take effect on Oct. 24, introducing measures intended to address the declining number of Imperial Family members. Under the revised law, female members of the Imperial Family will be allowed to retain their royal status and continue performing official duties after marrying commoners. The amendments will also permit certain paternal-line male descendants of the 11 former collateral branches that left the Imperial Family in 1947, following World War II, to be reintegrated into the family through adoption. The husbands and children of female royals, however, will not be granted Imperial status. By contrast, sons born to distant male relatives adopted into the Imperial Family will be eligible to inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne. The revisions therefore effectively preserve the traditional succession rule stipulated by the law, under which only male descendants in the paternal line are eligible to ascend the throne. Among the children of Emperor Naruhito and his younger brother, Crown Prince Akishino, only the Crown Prince’s 20-year-old son, Prince Hisahito, is currently in the line of succession, highlighting concerns about its long-term stability. Some opposition parties have criticized the amendments as departing from the “consensus of the legislature,” which was reached with the aim of maintaining an adequate number of Imperial Family members while avoiding the contentious issue of succession rules. They are calling for discussions on additional revisions. Succession Rights The two key revisions are based on proposals that a government-appointed expert panel recommended for further consideration in a 2021 report. In June this year, the heads and deputy heads of both chambers of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, convened a plenary meeting of representatives from political parties and reached a legislative consensus endorsing the proposals. The meeting, however, did not examine in detail whether the descendants of adoptees would be entitled to succeed to the throne. The government subsequently submitted a bill to revise the Imperial House Law during a special Diet session. The bill explicitly stated that adoptees–limited to unmarried, childless males aged 15 or older–would not themselves be eligible to ascend the throne. Regarding their descendants, however, the bill stipulated that Article 2 of the law, which sets the order of Imperial succession, “shall be applied according to the lineage of the (adoptee’s) birth family.” This provision effectively confirmed that the sons of adoptees would have that eligibility. During Diet deliberations, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara acknowledged that “the child of an adoptee is a member of the Imperial Family from birth and, if male, has the right to succeed to the throne.” Some opposition parties reacted strongly. Shunichi Mizuoka, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, described the provision as “a sneak attack.” While acknowledging that the consensus of the legislature did not address succession rights, Kihara maintained that the government had “drafted the bill faithfully in line with the consensus.” The amendment bill was enacted after a combined total of only about six hours of deliberations in the two chambers of the Diet. Calls for Further Revision Deliberations on legislation concerning the Imperial Family have traditionally been conducted on the premise of maintaining a “calm environment” and securing “consensus in the Diet.” During the vote at a plenary session of the House of Representatives, however, some members of the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance walked out, while several lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party were absent. At a plenary session of the House of Councillors, later renamed the Senate, lawmakers from several parties, including the CDP, the Japanese Communist Party, Reiwa Shinsengumi, now known as Inochi no To, and the Social Democratic Party, voted against the bill. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi welcomed the enactment of the revised Imperial House Law, saying, “I’m deeply moved.” Then CRA leader Junya Ogawa criticized the government’s handling of the legislation. “The government’s response was insincere,” he said. “Nothing like this must ever happen again in matters concerning the Imperial Family.” In a July opinion poll conducted by Jiji Press, 39.5 pct of respondents supported granting succession rights to the descendants of adoptees, while 26.9 pct opposed the idea. Meanwhile, 33.6 pct said they were unsure. Citing such poll results, former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba argued that “further revision is necessary.” Referring to the provision permitting the adoption of paternal-line male descendants, he said: “A great many people do not support this. If that reflects the will of the people, would the revision not conflict with the Constitution?” Article 1 of Japan’s postwar Constitution defines the Emperor as “the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people,” whose position derives “from the will of the people.” Little Prospect of Progress in Debate The revised Imperial House Law includes a supplementary provision requiring the rules to be reviewed every 30 years. In addition, committees in both chambers of the Diet adopted nonbinding resolutions pledging to “continue considering measures to ensure stable Imperial succession.” Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, emphasized that the party would conduct reviews as needed, without waiting 30 years. At a Lower House Budget Committee meeting following the enactment of the amendments, then CRA Secretary-General Takeshi Shina called for the prompt establishment of an expert panel. He said this should consider whether women and their descendants should be eligible to ascend the throne, as well as whether the descendants of male adoptees should receive succession rights. Takaichi rejected the proposal, however, saying, “I have no intention of immediately establishing a new panel of experts.” Meaningful progress in the debate therefore appears unlikely for the time being. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
