The popular Princess Aiko is Emperor Naruhito’s only child
Supporters of Japan’s Princess Aiko are calling for change to the country’s succession law, which stipulates that only men are permitted to take the Chrysanthemum Throne.
As reported by the Associated Press, the campaign comes as the popular princess celebrates her 24th birthday on December 1. Aiko is Emperor Naruhito’s only child.
The succession law limiting ruling rights to men was implemented in 1889 under the prewar Constitution, according to AP News. Postwar, the 1947 Imperial House Law also prevented women from becoming rulers; moreover, female members of the royal family lost their status if they married non-royals.
Gosakuramachi was Japan’s last female emperor to date; her reign lasted eight years, from 1762 to 1770.
Those pushing for the succession law’s amendment highlighted the limited options for successors to the throne – Naruhito’s nephew Prince Hisahito is the sole qualified young male heir. Other legal heirs to Naruhito’s throne are his 60-year-old younger brother Crown Prince Akishino (Hisahito’s father) and ex-Emperor Akihito’s 90-year-old brother.
Backersa of the amendment contended that if the law is not changed, Japan’s monarchy could die out.
After her debut as an adult royal in 2021, Aiko began gaining support as a future ruler after she went to Laos on her first solo official trip as her father’s representative last month. She met with leading officials and locals during the six-day stop. She was met with cheers during a visit to Nagasaki in September with her parents.
“The succession system conveys the Japanese mindset regarding gender issues. I expect having a female monarch would dramatically improve women’s status in Japan,” said Ikuko Yamazaki, who has been championing the succession law’s amendment via social media, in a statement published by AP News.
Cartoonist Yoshinori Kobayashi also released comic books backing the reform which have reached parliamentarians.
A proposal to permit women to reign again was drafted in 2005, but nationalists opposed the pitch after Hisahito’s birth. In January 2022, an expert panel comprised mainly of conservatives suggested that female royals be allowed to retain royal status and duties after marriage. It also pitched the adoption of male descendants from distant royal family lines so the male-line succession could continue.
However, discussions paused after being faced with the issue of whether non-royals should become royal if they marry princesses – and if the children from such a union should be granted royal status as well.
