Japan's beloved Princess Aiko is often cheered like a pop star. During a visit to Nagasaki with Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, the sound of her name being screamed by well-wishers along the roads overwhelmed the cheers for her parents. Now the 24-year-old's supporters want to change Japan's male-only succession law, which prohibits Aiko, the emperor's only child, from becoming monarch.
Along with frustration that the discussion on succession rules has stalled, there's a sense of urgency, reports the AP. Japan's shrinking monarchy is on the brink of extinction. Naruhito's teenage nephew is the only eligible heir from the younger generation. Experts say the female ban should be lifted before the royal family dies out, but conservative lawmakers, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, oppose the change. Inside the issue:
- Aiko's popularity: She has gained admirers since debuting as an adult royal in 2021; that support increased following her first solo official overseas trip to Laos in November. She met with top Laotian officials, visited cultural and historical venues, and met with locals. Earlier this year, Aiko accompanied her parents to Nagasaki and Okinawa, following the example set by her father, who places great importance on passing down the tragedy of WWII to younger generations.
- Her current day-to-day: In 2024, Aiko graduated from Gakushuin University, where her father and many other royals studied. She has since participated in her official duties and palace rituals while also working at the Red Cross Society. On weekends, she enjoys taking walks with her parents and playing volleyball, tennis, and badminton with palace officials.
- The rapidly dwindling Imperial Family: It has 16 members, down from 30 three decades ago. All are adults. Naruhito has only two potential younger male heirs, his 60-year-old brother, Crown Prince Akishino, and Akishino's 19-year-old son, Prince Hisahito. Prince Hitachi, former Emperor Akihito's younger brother and third in line to the throne, is 90.
- Male-only succession system is relatively new: There have been eight female monarchs. The last was Gosakuramachi, who ruled from 1762 to 1770. The male-only succession rule became law in 1889 and was carried over to the postwar 1947 Imperial House Law, which also forces female royals who marry commoners to lose their royal status. Experts say the system had only previously worked with the help of concubines who, until about 100 years ago, produced half of the past emperors.
- Recent years: The government proposed allowing a female monarch in 2005, but Hisahito's birth allowed nationalists to scrap the proposal. In 2022, a largely conservative expert panel called on the government to maintain its male-line succession while allowing female members of the family to keep their royal status after marriage and continue their official duties. The conservatives also proposed adopting male descendants from defunct distant branches of the royal family to continue the male lineage, an idea seen as unrealistic.
- The UN's take: The United Nations women's rights committee in Geneva urged the Japanese government last year to allow a female emperor, saying that not doing so hindered gender equality in Japan. Japan dismissed the report as "regrettable" and "inappropriate."
- Key quote: "The situation is already critical," said Hideya Kawanishi, a Nagoya University professor and expert on monarchy. Its future is totally up to Hisahito and his potential wife's ability to produce a son. "Who wants to marry him? If anyone does, she would endure enormous pressure to produce a male heir while performing official duties at a superhuman capacity."
- About that pressure: Soon after giving birth to Aiko, her mother, Harvard-educated former diplomat Masako, developed a stress-induced mental condition, apparently due to criticism for not producing a male heir, from which she is still recovering.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
