Japan’s parliament, the National Diet, has approved a bill that will relax some rulings around Imperial succession. This follows concerns of a shrinking royal family size, yet it does not address the rule which disallows female Emperors.
Passing through the lower house last week and the upper house this week, the bill allows the Imperial family to adopt male relatives over the age of 15. It also allows women who marry outside of the family to keep their royal status. While there has been public support for a female Emperor, this was not something the bill addressed, and so women are still barred from ascending the throne.
Princess Aiko, the only child of the current Emperor, is not eligible to succeed the throne. First in line to the throne is the Emperor’s younger brother Fumihito. Following Fumihito, his son Hisahito is set to take the throne afterwards. The line of succession could change, as the BBC points out male descendants from 11 Imperial branches that were removed following WW2 could be adopted back into the family with the new law.
It’s expected these changes could allow for a larger royal family, where the problems around succession would not be so prevalent. There would also be more individuals present for official appearances and ceremonies. Japan’s monarchy is believed to be the oldest continual hereditary monarchy in the world, with a lineage of more than 2,600 years.
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