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It must be the wish of the people that the Imperial family, which has preserved and passed on Japanese traditions and culture, should continue to be maintained. The consideration of measures for this purpose is a political responsibility.
Under the leadership of the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the House of Councillors, the ruling and opposition parties have begun discussing how to ensure a stable succession to the throne and secure a sufficient number of members of the Imperial family.
In 2021, a government panel unveiled a proposal to have female members of the Imperial family retain their Imperial status after marriage. It also proposed having male offspring in the male line of former Imperial family branches that left the Imperial family in 1947 return to the family by being adopted by the current members.
The ruling and opposition parties will discuss the appropriateness of these two proposals.
The Imperial family currently consists of 17 members. Of these, only three are eligible to succeed to the throne: Crown Prince Akishino, 58; Prince Hisahito, 17, the son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko; and Prince Hitachi, 88.
Other than Prince Hisahito, there are five unmarried members of the Imperial family, including Princess Aiko, 22, the daughter of the Emperor and Empress, and Princess Kako, 29, the second daughter of the crown prince and crown princess. All five are female.
The current Imperial House Law stipulates that a female member of the Imperial family must leave the family when she marries. This means there might be no other Imperial family members than Prince Hisahito at some point in the future. Securing a sufficient number of members of the Imperial family is an urgent issue.
At the first meeting of the ruling and opposition parties’ discussions, it was broadly agreed that female members of the Imperial family should retain their Imperial status after marriage. However, opinions were divided as to whether their spouses and children should be considered members of the Imperial family.
The Liberal Democratic Party argued that it was best for the spouses and children of female members not to have Imperial status. If the children of female members of the Imperial family were to succeed to the throne in the future, they would be emperors of female lineage, overturning the tradition of 126 generations of succession in the male line.
However, if the spouses and children of female Imperial family members have the status of ordinary citizens, they will be free to engage in political activities and express their own opinions. Can the political neutrality and dignity of the Imperial family be maintained?
The Imperial House Law limits the Imperial succession to male offspring of the male line. For the situation in which the Imperial family becomes unable to maintain itself, allowing the sons of female members of the Imperial family to retain Imperial status would at least be one option.
Most of the participants in the discussions also supported the proposal for male offspring in the male line of former Imperial family branches to return to the Imperial family. The LDP argued that adopted males should not be eligible to succeed to the throne, but that their sons born afterward should be eligible.
The Constitution stipulates that the Emperor derives “his position from the will of the people.” Careful consideration must be given to whether it is in line with the will of the people for individuals who have lived as ordinary citizens in the postwar period to return to the Imperial family and for their sons to be eligible to succeed to the throne.
