Tokyo —
Japan may have its first female prime minister, but the chances of a woman ascending to the throne are slimmer than ever as the Japanese government attempts to avert a succession crisis.
With only three heirs eligible to inherit the Kiku title, two of whom are over 60, the imperial family faces a succession crisis.
Japan’s monarchy has maintained a male-only inheritance for centuries, branding a deeply patriarchal society where men dominate other areas of life such as business and politics.
Now, the rule threatens the very survival of the world’s oldest monarchy, which has seen more daughters than sons born in recent decades.
To solve the shortage of successors, government ministers have proposed reinstating old branches of the royal family, thereby expanding the pool of male successors. The changes await parliamentary approval.
However, scholars, opposition politicians, and some members of the public are questioning why they do not allow women to inherit the throne.
“It’s difficult to find a rational basis for refusing to have a woman become emperor,” said Makoto Okawa, a professor at Tokyo’s Chuo University who studies imperial lineage.
Until the Imperial House Law was enacted in 1889 during the Meiji period, and female emperors were officially banned, Japan had had eight empresses, many of whom had male successors who were too young to rule.
Despite the law, the country’s comprehensive constitution does not prohibit women from ascending to the throne, and excluding women cannot be considered a “Japanese tradition,” Okawa said.
Okawa said, “The idea of eliminating women in advance because they are unable to become emperor should be understood as clearly contemptuous of women.”
Various public opinion polls show that most people are tolerant of a female emperor.
Another resident, Kana Sakakura, pointed out that European countries such as Britain have a long history of female monarchs.
“When I actually compare it to other countries, I feel that there is still an atmosphere in Japan where women are discouraged from exercising leadership in society,” she says.
However, the cause of female inheritance has received little attention. And Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her ruling Liberal Democratic Party have voiced the fiercest opposition to such changes.
During a parliamentary debate earlier this year, Takaichi said, “It remains appropriate to limit eligibility to male descendants of the imperial line.”
The government’s revised bill, which is expected to be passed this month, does not include a single scenario in which the princess ascends to the throne. If they marry a commoner, their children cannot either, although this is almost certain to happen given the shrinking of the royal family.
Although its role is largely ceremonial, the imperial family, believed in Japanese mythology to be descendants of the sun goddess, is a powerful symbol of unity in this country of 123 million people.
The family is so central to the nation that U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur, who oversaw Japan’s development immediately after World War II, described the emperor in a telegram as “the symbol that unites all Japanese people,” according to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian. “If we destroy him, the country will collapse.”
In prewar Japan, deciding on a successor was not that difficult.
At the time, the imperial family was larger and incorporated other collateral lines, known as okes, to pool candidates in case the main lineage failed to produce a successor.
But everything changed in 1947. As Japan grapples with its war-ravaged economy, the Imperial House Law was revised to shrink the imperial family and cut royal spending.
This effectively limited membership in the imperial family to direct relatives of then-Emperor Hirohito, cutting 11 collateral lines and setting the stage for the current shortage.
The royal family, which originally had 67 members, has since shrunk to 16 members, further reduced by the requirement that female members must leave the royal family if they marry a commoner.
The latest government proposal would allow the imperial family to “adopt” members of these former branches who are over the age of 15, unmarried, and childless. Their children will be eligible to take the throne.
Currently, Emperor Naruhito, 66, has a widely popular daughter, Princess Aiko, who is legally barred from inheriting the throne due to her gender. The 24-year-old has no children, and even if she had a son, she would not be eligible for the throne.
The two people eligible to succeed the Emperor are Naruhito’s 90-year-old uncle, Hitachi, and his younger brother, Prince Akishino, 60.
The third eligible and most likely successor is Prince Akishino’s 19-year-old son, Hisahito, the first adult male member of the royal family in 40 years.
Over the years, the imperial family has shrunk and aged, making it difficult to carry out royal duties. The new bill would also allow a princess to remain in the imperial household and share work after marrying a commoner, although her son would still be ineligible to inherit the throne.
Chuo University’s Okawa said these are only short-term solutions, as they rely heavily on a limited number of male heirs and their sons.
“It will be difficult to ensure the fundamental stability of the imperial succession if women remain excluded from the line of succession,” he said.
But for some, the issue of female succession goes to the heart of the traditions that have provided the stability for this country to thrive.
“Those who support the outcome may not see it as a problem, but for people like me who believe that traditional patrilineage should be maintained, this is considered a clear risk,” Tsuneyasu Takeda, a descendant of a former collateral imperial family, told CNN.
Since he is already married, he is not eligible for “adoption” under the proposed bill. Mr. Takeda wants his son to take over the company, but his son may become eligible when he turns 15.
His father was born just months after the 1947 amendments came into force and narrowly missed out on the hereditary title. He has been a vocal advocate for preserving male-only bloodlines and restoring the once royal lineage by writing books, running social media channels, and lecturing at universities.
Takeda said traditions should not be overturned by a “popularity contest.”
“Even if the decision is made by a narrow democratic vote, if a section of the population refuses to recognize the emperor, the monarch will no longer be respected,” he said.
“This will shake the very foundations of Japan.”
However, resident Akio Kubota opposed this, pointing out that there were female emperors in the past.
“In today’s world, we have things like gender equality,” he said.
“I find it a bit strange that the role of emperor is the only one inherited by men.”
