The Japanese government has submitted to the Diet a bill to amend the law that, in order to maintain male-line, male-only succession, would allow the adoption of men from former imperial branches and grant succession rights to their sons. The opposition has strongly protested, calling it a unilateral initiative by the government and ruling parties. Critics also say the amendment effectively excludes female members of the imperial family from the line of succession.

According to the Mainichi and Sankei newspapers on the 1st, the government approved a draft amendment to the ‘Imperial House Law’ at an extraordinary Cabinet meeting the previous day and submitted it to the House of Representatives. The amendment includes allowing the adoption entry of men from former imperial branches and enabling female imperial family members to retain their status even after marriage.

[Flat] 90% of the public in favor… Will Japan also allow women to accede to the throne?

This is a plan advanced by the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, to uphold a male-line, male-only succession principle. Under the current Imperial House Law, only sons (male) born to a father who is a member of the imperial family (male line) are eligible to succeed. As a result, Princess Aiko, Emperor Naruhito’s only daughter, is excluded from the line of succession. Among young male royals with succession rights, only Prince Hisahito, Emperor Naruhito’s nephew, remains, raising concerns about the stability of the succession system.

If passed, the amendment would allow the Imperial Household to adopt men in the male line from the 11 former collateral branches that lost imperial status in 1947. Eligibility for adoption would be limited to male-line men aged 15 or older who have no spouse or children. Upon adoption, they would immediately acquire imperial status and could not later renounce it at their own discretion. Succession rights would not be granted to the adoptees themselves but would be recognized beginning with their biological sons.

The amendment also contains a supplementary provision requiring the system to be reviewed every 30 years as needed, taking into account the future number of imperial family members.

The government aims to pass the bill by the end of the session on the 17th of next month, but the opposition is pushing back. Amid ongoing rulingopposition clashes over bills such as the one to reduce the number of lawmakers, the government is said to be forcing the bill through without sufficient debate. Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the conservative opposition Democratic Party for the People, said, “Amending the ‘Imperial House Law’ is an issue that should be discussed calmly beyond partisan rivalry,” adding, “It is very regrettable that the government and ruling parties are undermining such an environment.”

In particular, criticism has arisen that, over the provision granting succession rights to adoptees’ children, the government has legislated on its own beyond what the legislature discussed. In an outline of the amendment the government released after a recent plenary session of the legislature on revising the Imperial House Law, there was no explicit statement granting succession rights to adoptees’ children. The Mainichi pointed out that in the ten rounds of consultations between the ruling and opposition parties that preceded the government’s proposal, the main agenda was securing the number of imperial family members, while the issue of succession itself was not discussed. Masayo Tanabe, the secretary-general of the Constitutional Democratic Party, criticized, “This is far from the legislature’s collective will,” and “the process is extremely one-sided.”

There is also criticism that discussion of allowing female or matrilineal succession has been excluded. The Asahi Shimbun assessed that it is “an amendment that strongly reflects the LDP’s position of adhering to male-line, male-only succession.” In an editorial the same day, the Mainichi argued, “To realize stable succession, debate over whether to recognize women’s succession rights is unavoidable,” and criticized, “It is unacceptable that the government’s insistence on a male-line, male-only principle has led it to slight the consensus-building process.”

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In Japan, the need to discuss women’s succession rights has been consistently raised. In a Mainichi Shimbun poll this month, 40% said they support both a female emperor and a matrilineal emperor, while 33% said they support a female emperor but oppose a matrilineal emperor. About 73% supported the idea of a female emperor itself.