TOKYO REPORT: Parliament Talks on Japan’s Imperial Succession Deadlocked

Tokyo, Oct. 6 (Jiji Press)–Parliamentary debate on securing stable Imperial succession has stalled, because informal talks between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan broke down. A key sticking point is how to treat the spouses and children of female members of the Imperial Family. With no agreement reached during this year’s ordinary session of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, prospects for a consensus of the legislature remain dim. The Imperial House Law limits succession to male descendants in the paternal line of Imperial ancestors. It also stipulates that female members of the Imperial Family forfeit their royal status upon marrying commoners. As a result, among the children of Emperor Naruhito and his younger brother, Crown Prince Akishino, only the Crown Prince’s son, Prince Hisahito, is eligible to inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne. The imbalance underscores the urgency of securing a stable line of succession. In 2005, an expert panel convened by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi recommended allowing women, and their descendants, to ascend the throne. That momentum faded the following year, however, with the birth of Prince Hisahito. After the Democratic Party of Japan, predecessor to the CDP, came to power in 2009, then Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s cabinet explored a different approach of permitting female members to establish and lead new Imperial branches. In 2013, however, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of the LDP effectively reset the debate, returning the issue to its starting point. In 2021, a new panel of government-appointed experts issued a report addressing the shrinking number of Imperial Family members. It highlighted two measures: allowing female royals to retain their Imperial status after marrying commoners, and reintegrating, via adoption, male descendants in the paternal line from the 11 former collateral branches that left the Imperial Family in 1947, after World War II. Discussion on more fundamental reforms, most notably whether to end the male-only tradition and open the Imperial line to women and their descendants, was deferred. A parliamentary debate began last May, with both the ruling and opposition sides broadly agreeing that female members of the Imperial Family should be allowed to retain their status after marrying commoners. Since March this year, four senior figures–Taro Aso, the LDP’s supreme adviser; CDP President Noda; House of Representatives Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga from the LDP; and Vice Speaker Koichiro Genba from the CDP–have held behind-the-scenes talks aimed at reaching an agreement during the ordinary Diet session through June. Their discussions focused on the legal status of the husbands and children of female members of the Imperial Family. The CDP sought to recognize such spouses and children as members of the Imperial Family, while the LDP has opposed the proposal, arguing that it could open the door to a maternal line of succession to the throne. Aso proposed conferring Imperial status on the husbands and children of female Imperial Family members only when they marry men from the former 11 branch households. Noda countered that such status should be decided by the Imperial House Council, which consists of members of the Imperial Family and representatives of the government, legislature and judiciary. The discussions remained at an impasse. Views also diverged on a proposal to allow men from the former branches to be adopted into the Imperial Family. Within the LDP, home to conservatives who strongly favor paternal-line male succession, adoption is viewed as the leading option, according to a party source. The CDP, by contrast, is wary, arguing that such a move could conflict with the constitutional guarantee of equality under the law and the ban on discrimination based on family origin. Even so, one CDP source said the party hoped to use the debate to “secure agreement on granting Imperial status to the husbands and children of female Imperial Family members, in exchange for accepting the adoption plan.” Noda privately indicated that he could accept adoption if eligibility were strictly limited to descendants of the former branch households born within a specified period and meeting defined kinship criteria. Aso did not agree with this, however. In May, the four senior officials agreed to first finalize an accord to preserve the status of female Imperial Family members after they marry commoners. Noda said they had also agreed to postpone decisions on two contentious issues: the status of female members’ husbands and children, and the adoption proposal. A fundamental discrepancy soon emerged between the LDP and the CDP. Aso believed he had secured agreement on the adoption proposal, while Noda maintained that the issue had been deferred for future discussions. When the draft agreement prepared by the Lower House secretariat omitted the adoption plan, Aso lodged a protest, and the carefully constructed negotiations collapsed. Officials seeking a ruling-opposition agreement on a solution to the Imperial succession issue are pinning their hopes on working-level talks between Minoru Kihara, a former defense minister from the LDP, and CDP Executive Deputy President Sumio Mabuchi. The two sides have maintained informal contact since the ordinary Diet session ended in June. Lower House Speaker Nukaga has signaled his intention to secure a cross-party agreement during an extraordinary Diet session this autumn. With politics at a prolonged standstill after turmoil leading up to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to resign, however, some observers warn that a deal may not be reached until after next year’s ordinary session starts in January. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]