Parties Still Find No Conclusion on Imperial Succession

Parties fell apart on imperial succession with no hope of reaching a conclusion within current session of the Diet, which will close on June 22nd. While they have a consensus on female members of the Imperial House maintaining certain status after marriage, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is negative to an idea for their husband or children to join the family. The promise of the Speakers of both Houses will not be implemented. 

The Imperial House Law stipulates that the imperial throne is succeeded to by male offspring in the male line belonging to the imperial lineage and a female family leaves the Imperial House when she is married with a person out of the Family. Under those conditions, possible successors were reduced to the extent that Prince Hisahito of Akishino is the only male family who is not married. The house also has six unmarried female members.

 

An experts’ committee for imperial succession in 2021 made a proposal with two options to increase members of the Imperial House. One is to give married female members a status of the Imperial Family member. Another is adoption of men who are on patrilineal line in imperial lineage. If those two are not acceptable, the committee recommended to make amendment of laws to directly include the man on patrilineal line in imperial lineage.

 

The parties have basically agreed on giving married female members the imperial status. They also have a consensus on adoption only for the men on patrilineal line from eleven branches of the Imperial House. Considering urgency of the issue, the Speaker of House of Representatives, Fukushiro Nukaga, announced his hope to reach a comprehensive consensus by the end of ordinary session in 2025.

 

In the discussion among the parties, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) proposed an idea in April that the status of husband and children of a female Imperial House member would be decided by the Imperial House Council. On the other hand, the LDP opposed the CDPJ’s idea, limiting imperial status for husband and children to the case that the husband would be from the branches of the Imperial House. Conservative LDP is highly reluctant to expand the Imperial House, despite shortage of the members, to matrilineal line.

 

There has been an argument that the parties announce an agreement only on including married female members in the Imperial House. However, Nukaga, a lawmaker from the LDP, insisted on a comprehensive agreement including status of husband and children. Leaving less than two weeks to the end of session, the Speakers gave up having a consensus of the Diet for stable succession of Imperial Throne.

 

The disagreement was mainly caused by reluctancy of the LDP in discussing broadening members of the Imperial House to women. The LDP also failed in having conclusion on regulation of political donation from companies and organizations, which Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had promised to conclude by the end of March. That incompetence may have negative impact on the Upper House election after the ordinary session is closed.

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