Unpopular amendments to Japan’s Imperial House Law, reinforcing rules for succession exclusively through the male line, took effect on Saturday, October 24. The new rules are expected to bring historic changes to the 1,500-year history of the Japanese monarchy. UNN reports this, citing AP.
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The changes include allowing the adoption of distant male relatives raised as commoners so that they can become members of the royal family and fathers of future heirs, as well as allowing princesses to retain their royal status after marrying commoners.
However, the revised law bars the emperor’s extremely popular daughter, 24-year-old Princess Aiko, from becoming his successor, and even bars her future children from becoming members of the royal family.
Critics argue that the amendments discriminate against people on the basis of their family background or sex and place pressure on young members of the royal family to produce male offspring.
The Imperial Household Agency of Japan said that officials are studying ways to implement these measures.
The rule of succession exclusively through the male line means that the line must pass to Emperor Akishino, the emperor’s younger brother, and then to his 20-year-old nephew, Prince Hisahito. Next in line after him is the emperor’s 90-year-old uncle.
The revised law allows the adoption of unmarried male descendants aged 15 and older of distant imperial relatives—but only through the paternal line—into the branch of the royal family.
The plan is to find candidates from families that relinquished their royal status in 1947, which at the time was intended to ease the postwar financial burden on the monarchy. Four of the 11 such families remain, but officials say they have been separated from Naruhito by at least 36 generations since splitting from a common male-line ancestor 600 years ago.
The government’s efforts to ensure that men from royal families produce male emperors have drawn criticism.
Conservative scholars say there are a number of candidates, but so far no one has put themselves forward, and many are skeptical about whether anyone will volunteer. Experts also question the lack of transparency in the selection process.
Princesses may remain members of the royal family after marriage, but with caveats.
Previously, princesses who married commoners had to relinquish their royal status and leave the royal family. The last to do so, albeit voluntarily, was Mako, one of Naruhito’s two nieces, who married her university boyfriend in 2021 and moved to the United States, where he became a lawyer.
The five unmarried princesses, including Aiko and her 31-year-old cousin Kako, can now choose whether to remain members of the royal family after marriage.
The change is intended to prevent women from leaving the royal family by allowing them to continue their work and help carry out official duties as the imperial dynasty ages and declines.
However, experts say the effect will be limited because the law does not grant royal status to their future husbands and children.
Prohibiting the granting of royal status to husbands and children is an explicit attempt to prevent succession through the maternal line, said Hideya Kawanishi, a professor at Nagoya University and an expert on the monarchy.
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