Revised Imperial House Law Passes, Safeguarding Male-Line Succession

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The revised Imperial House Law has passed both houses of the Diet, clearing the Upper House plenary session. The Imperial Household Agency has reported the enactment to Emperor Naruhito and Crown Prince Akishino.

The law protects an imperial line that has continued unbroken from the nation's founding to the present day. Its passage carries profound historical significance.

Even so, this enactment is only a first step toward securing stable imperial succession. The Sanae Takaichi administration must devote its full energy to realizing the law's provisions, including the adoption of men from former imperial family lineages. Rather than leaving this to the Imperial Household Agency alone, the prime minister should take direct charge.

PM Must Lead Directly 

To secure imperial family numbers, the revised law establishes two systems: restoring male-line male descendants of former imperial families to imperial status through adoption by current imperial family members, and allowing female imperial family members to retain their imperial status after marriage.

Article 1 of the revised law states that "the Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by a male descendant in the male line belonging to the Imperial Lineage." 

Male imperial family members restored through adoption are exceptionally barred from succession rights, but their sons—who would be born as imperial family members from birth—would hold succession rights. Meanwhile, ordinary men who marry female imperial family members, and their children, would not be granted imperial status.

Why Male-Line Succession Endures 

Japan's emperors and imperial family have continued exclusively through male-line (patrilineal) succession without exception. There is no precedent for an ordinary (non-imperial) man who is not part of the male line becoming an imperial family member through marriage to a female imperial family member. 

By not permitting ordinary men to join the imperial family, Japan has prevented the potential usurpation of the throne or a takeover of the imperial house. 

Ordinary women, by contrast, have become empresses or imperial consorts through marriage. The revised law was reached out of respect for the history and tradition of the imperial institution.

The most fundamental principle of imperial and family succession—male-line succession—must not be abandoned on a whim by whichever generation happens to be alive today. Those who support the revised law say it opens a path to preserving the legitimacy and symbolic standing of the Emperor, a historical institution at the foundation of the nation.

Securing Prince Hisahito's Reign 

A key premise of the revised law is that it must not disturb the line of succession from the current Emperor to Crown Prince Akishino to Prince Hisahito. This has been confirmed both in the government report submitted to the Diet by the Cabinet and in the "collective will of the legislature" compiled by the Diet's plenary deliberations. 

Prince Hisahito, currently 19, can be expected to reign for a long period extending to around the end of this century, and it is naturally desirable that a son be born to him and succeed to the throne. But for now, he is the only male imperial family member of his generation with succession rights, and concerns remain over stable succession.

Compounding this, few, if any, other imperial family members may remain by the time Prince Hisahito ascends the throne.

It is therefore essential to increase and support the number of imperial branch households with succession rights.

The 'Princess Aiko' Argument 

Some segments of society have argued for Princess Aiko's accession, despite her lacking succession rights.

The current Emperor declared at the Ceremonies for Proclamation of Crown Prince that the next emperor would be Crown Prince Akishino. Therefore, the legitimate line of succession to Prince Hisahito is firmly established.

This "Princess Aiko as Emperor" argument disregards the Emperor's declaration. Furthermore, it has not been raised either by the Cabinet or in the Diet's plenary deliberations, in the discussions stemming from the supplementary resolution tied to the Retired Emperor's special abdication law.

Arguments that invoke Princess Aiko's impossible accession to promote a "female emperor," while obstructing Prince Hisahito's accession or the restoration of former imperial family members' status, run directly counter to the stability of imperial succession.

Weight of the Former Families 

The former imperial families (of the Fushimi-no-miya lineage) served for more than 500 years, from Emperor Go-Hanazono (the 102nd) to Emperor Showa (the 124th), as companions safeguarding the imperial succession during crises that threatened to break the imperial line. 

The imperial family's history includes these former imperial families, and this weight deserves respect. As of 1947, under the current Constitution, they still held succession rights. They are fitting candidates to be asked to return to imperial status.

The revised law, formulated in line with the "collective will of the legislature," passed the Lower House with overwhelming support from parties representing roughly nine-tenths of the total seats, and passed the Upper House with support from roughly three-quarters of members.

RELATED:

Survey: Younger Generations Back Male-Line Imperial Succession via Adoption

Author: The Sankei Shimbun

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