TOKYO — Japan has moved to bolster the long-term stability of its shrinking imperial family by revising the Imperial House Law while maintaining the country's longstanding principle of male-only succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, following parliamentary approval of the legislation.
The revised law, enacted by the Diet on July 17, introduces measures aimed at increasing the number of imperial family members available to carry out official duties. The legislation allows female members of the imperial family to retain their imperial status after marrying commoners and permits the adoption into the imperial family of male-line descendants from former imperial branches that lost their status after World War Two.
The government has said the changes are intended to address the steady decline in the size of the imperial household while preserving the traditional male-line succession system that has governed the monarchy under the postwar Imperial House Law.
Under the revised legislation, succession to the throne remains restricted to men in the paternal line. Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, therefore remains excluded from the line of succession despite longstanding public debate over allowing female emperors.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government has argued that maintaining male-line succession preserves the historical continuity of the imperial institution while the new provisions provide practical support for the monarchy's day-to-day functioning. Supporters of the legislation have also said expanding the pool of imperial family members is necessary as the number of working royals continues to decline.
Critics, including some opposition lawmakers and constitutional scholars, have argued that the legislation fails to resolve the longer-term succession challenge by excluding women from inheriting the throne. Opinion polls in recent years have indicated broad public support for permitting a female emperor, although the government has continued to back the male-line principle.
Japan's imperial succession is currently limited to a small number of eligible male heirs under existing law. The revised legislation marks the first substantive amendment to the Imperial House Law since its enactment in 1947, according to official accounts.
The government has said implementation of the new provisions will proceed under the revised law, while broader discussions over the future of the imperial system are expected to continue within Japan's political institutions.
