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Japan Parliament Amends Imperial House Law, Allowing Women to Keep Titles but Keeping Male-Only Succession
Japan's upper house passed revisions to the Imperial House Law on Friday after lower house approval the prior week. The changes permit adoption of male distant relatives over age 15 and allow women to retain titles after marrying outside the family while leaving the prohibition on female emperors unchanged.
Jul 16, 11:32 PM·1m read7 sources
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Japan's parliament enacted a revision to the Imperial House Law on Friday that maintains the requirement of paternal-lineage male succession to the throne. The upper house approved the bill after it cleared the lower house the previous week. The measure marks the first amendment to the main text of the Imperial House Law since 1949.
Under the new rules, male descendants of 11 former imperial branches removed after the Second World War may be adopted back into the family if they are over age 15. Women who marry outside the imperial family will no longer be required to relinquish their titles. The legislation does not alter the existing prohibition on female emperors.
Princess Aiko, the only child of the current emperor, therefore remains ineligible to succeed to the throne. The line of succession currently stands at Fumihito, the emperor's 60-year-old younger brother, followed by his 19-year-old son Prince Hisahito and the emperor's 90-year-old uncle, the BBC reported.
A June survey by Mainichi Shimbun found more than 70 percent of more than 2,000 respondents supported allowing a female emperor.
A Kyodo News poll reported 83 percent in favor of a woman taking the throne.
