NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION 07/2022
-
Yoon Yoo-sook, Researcher, The Institute for Korea-Japan Historical Issues
Final Report of Intellectuals for Stable Succession to the Throne
The Japanese government's Intellectuals Council, discussing stable succession to the throne, compiled a final report and submitted it to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on December 22, 2021. When the 'Law for Special Exception of the Imperial House Law Concerning Abdication, etc. of Emperor' was enacted in 2017, the National Assembly requested through an incidental vote to review the tasks to ensure a stable succession to the throne or the establishment of a female imperial family, and the Intellectuals Council was established accordingly.
Why is the Japanese political world concerned about a “stable succession to the throne?” The reigning Emperor Naruhito’s only direct descendant is his daughter Aiko. The only unmarried man in the next generation of the imperial family is Hisahito (first year in high school), son of Akishinonomiya, Naruhito's younger brother.
According to Article 1(2) of the Imperial Household Law of Section 2 of the Japanese Constitution, it is stipulated that “the throne shall be succeeded by a male imperial family member of the male lineage belonging to the imperial line.” A male of the male lineage means “a man who has an emperor among his father’s ancestors.” In other words, according to the current Imperial Household Law, the throne after Naruhito will be succeeded by his younger brother Akishinonomiya and Akishinonomiya's son Hisahito. Naruhito's daughter Aiko is excluded from the succession.
In the past, women of the imperial family were removed from Imperial Register after marriage and lived as ordinary citizens. Currently, there are a total of five unmarried women, including Aiko, in the imperial family. However, if they all get married and leave the imperial family, there will be no next-generation imperial family members for the future emperor Hisahito.
Regarding the succession to the throne, the report said, “The time is not appropriate to discuss the future of the generation following Hisahito in detail, and it may make the succession to the throne unstable. (omitted) It is imperative to secure the number of members of the imperial family apart from the succession issue.” Two methods were proposed as a way to secure members of the imperial family: ① a female imperial family member to remain in the imperial family even after marriage; however, even if a female imperial family remains in the imperial family after marriage, her spouse and children will not have imperial status. Regarding the adoption of male descendants of the former imperial family, the report said the ‘descendants of 11 families who left the imperial family in 1947 after losing the war could be considered, but those adopted as Imperial family members are not eligible to inherit the throne.’
Media Criticism against Final Report
Some Japanese media raised problems with the details of this final report.
The criticism centered on the fact that the final report focused only on securing the number of members of the imperial family, while the Intellectuals Council was initially established to review the issue of a female emperor or the establishment of a female imperial family. Each of the proposed methods also has problems. Even if a female imperial family maintains imperial family status after marriage, this alternative cannot be a future succession plan if the spouse and children are not given the right to inherit the throne. Also, it is uncertain whether any of the male descendants of the former imperial family really hope to become a part of the imperial family. Another alternative suggested was to 'make a male member of the former imperial family the member of the current imperial family directly by law' if the number of members of the imperial family cannot be sufficiently secured through these two plans. However, it is questionable whether such a method, ignoring individual opinions, is realistically feasible. This is why the final report is criticized as nothing more than a consideration for the conservatives who support the ‘male descendant through the male line’ principle.
Revision of Imperial Household Law Failed
However, there have been previous Intellectuals Council or submission of reports on the succession to the throne. When Aiko, the first daughter of the then-Crown Prince Naruhito, was born in December 2001, while there has been no male birth in the imperial family since Akishinonomiya was born in 1965, there was growing sentiment in Japanese society that the current Imperial Household Law should be reconsidered so that a female emperor can ascend to the throne. Following this sentiment, from 2005 to 2006, the possibility of a female emperor was reviewed by the “Intellectuals Council on Imperial Household Law,” a private advisory organization for then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, with the enthronement of Aiko as a female emperor in mind.
On November 24, 2005, the Intellectuals Council compiled and submitted a final report to Prime Minister Koizumi requesting that the qualifications for succession to the throne be extended to women or female descendants of the emperor and imperial family for the stable maintenance of the symbolic emperor system and started to make moves for the revision of the Imperial Household Law. But in September 2006, when a male (Hisahito) was born in the imperial family for the first time in 41 years, and Shinzo Abe took office as Prime Minister, the move to revise the law was halted. Even as of 2019, 70-80% of the Japanese people supported Aiko's ascension as emperor, but Prime Minister Abe, in particular, did not want a female emperor.
While criticism continues regarding the current throne succession rules in Japan and the imperial family system in terms of discrimination against women and equal rights for men and women, it seems that the possibility that a female emperor to appear in Japanese society in the future dropped again as this final report barely deals with the issue of female emperors.
The user can freely use the public work without fee, but it is not permitted to use for commercial purpose, or to change or modify the contents of public work.
- Northeast Asia History Network
- Northeast Asia History Library
- DOKDO Research Institute
- DOKDO Museum Seoul
- Education and Training
