Japanese Succession Controversy - Current Situation

Current Situation

See also: Line of succession to the Japanese throne

Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako have one child, Princess Toshi, born on December 1, 2001. The child's birth, which occurred more than eight years after her parents' marriage and after the Crown Princess had considerable (and widely noted) difficulty in conceiving a child, sparked a lively debate in Japan about imperial succession. To add to this dearth of male heirs, Crown Prince Naruhito's brother, Prince Akishino, had only two daughters, Princess Mako of Akishino, born on October 23, 1991, and Princess Kako of Akishino, born December 29, 1994. The two other collateral members of the Imperial Family also had only daughters. The late Prince Tomohito of Mikasa had two daughters, Princess Akiko of Mikasa, born December 20, 1981, and Princess Yōko of Mikasa, born October 25, 1983. The late Prince Takamado had three daughters, Princess Tsuguko of Takamado, born March 8, 1986, Princess Noriko of Takamado, born July 22, 1988, and Princess Ayako of Takamado born September 15, 1990. No male heir had been born into the Imperial Family in nearly 41 years.

In the early 2000s (decade), the succession controversy emerged as a political issue. The Asahi Shimbun published an editorial in May 2006 suggesting that the current system was unsustainable. In an Asahi Shimbun survey in March 2006, 82% of the respondents supported the revision of the Imperial Household Law to allow a woman to ascend to the Imperial Throne. Then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi also strongly supported the revision, pledging to present a bill to the 2006 session of the parliament. Some conservative lawmakers opposed Koizumi and said the debate was premature. The current emperor's cousin, HIH Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, also opposed the proposal, saying that the official male members of the Japanese imperial family might take up concubines in order to produce male members because it was previously possible for a male illegitimate child to assume the imperial throne. Later he said that this remark was just a joke. Another solution would be to restore the Shinnoke (agnatic collateral branches of the imperial dynasty which had been disinherited by the United States) to the line of succession.

Prince Akishino's wife, Princess Akishino, gave birth to a baby boy on September 6, 2006. The child, Prince Hisahito of Akishino, is now third in line to the Imperial Throne. Following the birth of Prince Hisahito, the political debate surrounding succession subsided. Koizumi withdrew his bill, though public opinion polling suggested that support for the change was still around 68%.

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