Takaichi Backs Male-Only Imperial Succession

Tokyo, Feb. 27 (Jiji Press)–Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday she believes that it is appropriate to limit Japan’s Imperial succession to male heirs from the Imperial Family’s paternal line. The prime minister made the remark at a parliamentary meeting, citing a report compiled by experts in 2021 that proposed measures to ensure the number of Imperial Family members, separately from eligibility for succession to the Imperial Throne. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference the report said that those eligible for adoption into the Imperial Family are limited to men from the paternal line, defending Takaichi’s remark. The revision of the Imperial Household Law for the stable Imperial succession “should be based on the premise that male heirs from the Imperial Family’s paternal line must ascend to the throne,” Takayuki Kobayashi, policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said during the meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament. “It is a historical fact that the country has had female Emperors from the paternal line in the past,” Takaichi said, adding that “it would be disrespectful to deny the fact.” “The Imperial throne has never been inherited by people from the maternal line,” she said. The 2021 report said that discussions on the Imperial succession after Crown Prince Hisahito, who is second in line to the throne after his father, Crown Prince Akishino, should probably be deepened in the future. It suggested two plans–allowing female members from the Imperial Family to retain their Imperial Family status after marriage and granting the Imperial Family status through adoption to male members in the paternal line of former Imperial Family branches. The report added that ensuring a sufficient number of the Imperial Family members is an urgent issue, while separating the Imperial succession issue from discussions on the stability of the system. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]