Japan\u2019s cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft bill to revise rules\ngoverning the imperial family, aiming to ensure the continuity of the\nimperial system amid concerns over the shrinking number of members.\nHowever, the government maintained the system of succession limited to\nmales from the paternal line, even as the number of eligible heirs\ncontinues to decline.<\/p>\n
The ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of the\nLiberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its partner, the Japan Innovation\nParty, aims to pass the revision to the 1947 Imperial Household Law\nbefore the current parliamentary session ends on 17 July.<\/p>\n
The bill has two main points: allowing the imperial family to adopt\nmales aged at least 15 from the male lines of 11 former imperial family\nbranches, and permitting female members of the imperial family to retain\ntheir imperial status after marrying a commoner.<\/p>\n
Under the revision, adopted males would be an exception to the\ncurrent law\u2019s prohibition on adoption. However, they themselves would\nnot be permitted to become emperor. Their male descendants, though,\nwould be eligible to become heirs to the Chrysanthemum Throne.<\/p>\n
The proposal reflects the conservative stance of the LDP and is\nexpected to face opposition from other parties during parliamentary\ndebate, as changes to the imperial succession system have rarely been\ndiscussed in depth within the cross-party forum examining the legal\nrevision.<\/p>\n
In that forum, the speakers and deputy speakers of both the lower and\nupper houses heard views from all 13 parliamentary parties and groups\nbefore drafting a joint agreement that formed the basis of the bill.<\/p>\n
Under current law, only males descended from an emperor through the\npaternal line are eligible to ascend the throne. Meanwhile, female\nmembers of the imperial family lose their imperial status upon marriage.\nThis has led to a steady decline in the number of imperial family\nmembers and potential heirs.<\/p>\n
At present, there are only three heirs to Emperor Naruhito, 66: his\nyounger brother, Crown Prince Fumihito, 60; his nephew, Prince Hisahito,\n19; and his uncle, Prince Hitachi, who is 90 years old.<\/p>\n
The 11 former imperial family branches share a common ancestor with\nthe current imperial family from around 600 years ago. In 1947, 51\nmembers of these 11 branches were stripped of their noble status, while\nthree families descended from the siblings of Emperor Hirohito, later\nknown as Emperor Showa, retained their imperial status under the\npolicies of the post-World War II American occupation.<\/p>\n
These two proposed revisions were actually recommended by a\ngovernment panel in 2021. However, the panel did not discuss the\npossibility of women or descendants from the maternal line ascending the\nthrone, citing that such discussions were still premature. Meanwhile, a\nKyodo News poll conducted in May showed that 83 percent of respondents\nsupported the possibility of Japan having a female emperor.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/japan-revises-imperial-rules-amid-chrysanthemum-throne-succession-crisis-1782820551", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }