Crunch of successors in royal family called out in Japan parliament, PM asks for debate
Japan Emperor and PM
Japan is struggling with a massive problem of a royal scale, quite literally. The country is facing a lack of imperial successors as it is now left with only one heir apparent. The problem is so massive that the royal family recently had its first adult male in 40 years.
Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that lawmakers should debate solutions to Japan's "urgent" lack of imperial successors. The rules, right now, only allow men to ascend the throne, and this is creating a major problem for the royal family.
"Stable royal succession is extremely important. Stabilising the number of members of the Imperial Family is a particularly urgent issue," Ishiba said in his first policy speech to parliament, calling for active debate on the issue.
Emperor Naruhito and his Harvard-educated wife Masako have only one child, Princess Aiko. However, the rules don't let a female ascend the throne. So next in line is Prince Hisahito, the nephew of the emperor and son of Crown Prince Akishino, the emperor's brother.
Akishino was the last male in the family to reach adulthood, way back in 1985.
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The imperial family has been ruling for more than a millennium. There are 17 members and Hisahito is the youngest of them all. The family has only four men.
Women can't ascend throne in Japan
Women of the royal often marry commoners and lose their royal status. However, Princess Aiko is quite popular among the people of the country. Even though she is from a direct line of ascent, and a favourite to become Empress, the law won't let her take over.
Before Hisahito was born, there were suggestions to bring changes in the law to fight the crisis. However, after he was born in 2006, the proposal to let a woman take over the crown was shelved.
In 2022, the matter was raised again when experts asked the government to introduce a proposal allowing female members to keep their royal status after marriage.
This way, the number of members in the imperial family will not fall down. It also asked to adopt male descendants from the defunct royal families to continue the male lineage with distant relatives.
