Japan imperial rules tweaked but still no woman emperor
A guest takes pictures of musicians playing Gagaku, an ancient Japanese court music, during the spring imperial garden party at the Akasaka Palace’s imperial garden in Tokyo on Apr 17, 2026. (File photo: Pool via AFP)
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TOKYO: Japan’s parliament enacted changes to the imperial succession law on Friday (Jul 17) but maintained the bar on a woman becoming emperor despite surveys suggesting wide public support for the idea.
The future of the imperial household – mythically descended from the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu – hinges currently on Prince Hisahito, the 19-year-old nephew of serving Emperor Naruhito, 66.
If Hisahito – barely out of school and currently studying biology and insects and who is not married – has no son, then under the rules as they stand he will have no heir and the bloodline will end.
The Bill, passed by a large majority by the Upper House on Friday, allows the adoption of male distant relatives over 15 back into the imperial family – as long as they are single.
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It also lets women keep their royal status after marrying a commoner, something which is already allowed for men.
Japan’s Imperial Household Law, in place since 1947, does not allow women to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, and the right to the throne can only be passed through the male line.
This rules out popular Princess Aiko, 24, daughter of Naruhito, or Hisahito’s two elder sisters, ever becoming emperor.
The legislation passed after considerable wrangling within the conservative ruling party of Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first woman prime minister, who opposes female succession.
Seiichiro Murakami, a veteran of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said after the Bill passed the Lower House on Jul 10 that it was “utterly outrageous” to rule out the possibility of Aiko as emperor.
Former imperial family member Asahiro Kuni, 81, has said it would be unrealistic to adopt distant male relatives, adding he would advise his grandchildren to refuse such a proposal.
Kuni is a member of one of the 11 imperial branch families that left the imperial register after World War II.
“By the age of 15, a person has grown up breathing the air of freedom,” Kuni told the Asahi Shimbun daily.
“I think it would be difficult to adapt to life in the imperial family.”
“There might be people who want to join the imperial family, but if they understood the hardships of life as a royal member, they probably wouldn’t say such a thing,” Kuni added.
The top-selling Yomiuri Shimbun daily, usually a vocal supporter of the LDP, also criticised the government in a recent editorial.
The imperial family now has 16 members in total, including five men – retired emperor Akihito, who is 92, his 90-year-old brother, the 66-year-old emperor, his brother, and Hisahito.
An Asahi Shimbun poll in May showed 72 per cent of respondents in favour of changing the rules to allow women to ascend the throne.
Source: AFP/rl
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