Japanese monarchy could fade into history but unwillingness over female succession persists

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito has finally admitted that the future of the Chrysanthemum Throne is in peril. Speaking on the eve of his state visit to the UK in mid-June, Naruhito noted that the number of male heirs in the imperial family was shrinking and they were ageing.

Female members of the family, meanwhile, are forced to give up royal status when they marry: “Due to these factors, the number of members of the imperial family who can take on public duties is decreasing compared to before,” he said.

The emperor is barred by the constitution from making political statements. So while even these comments are unprecedented, he was unable to discuss the obvious solution: open up the succession to female heirs.

Public debate over Japan’s patrilineal succession system reignited soon after the enthronement of Naruhito as the 126th emperor in 2019.

When Naruhito’s father, Akihito, abdicated on grounds of declining health in 2019, it was the first such abdication in more than 200 years and there was little or no constitutional provision for the enthronement of an emperor while the previous emperor still lived.

So the government quickly passed a law to allow this. The process also sparked the renewal of debate on the male-only succession system. The specific exclusion of women as heirs and monarch was...

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