Japan is running out of royals, and it’s putting the world’s oldest continuous hereditary monarchy at risk.<\/p>\n
There are only three people in line to inherit Japan’s Chrysanthemum Throne, and one of them is 90 years old. All three of them are men.<\/p>\n
In a bid to secure the line, the Japanese government recently passed changes to allow males from former branches of the imperial family to be adopted into the current royal family.<\/p>\n
Born as commoners, the adoptees would not be eligible to inherit the throne themselves, but their sons would be.<\/p>\n
The proposed solution has proved contentious, with many people in the country asking why the law was not instead changed to allow women to succeed to the throne.<\/p>\n Emperor Naruhito has only one child, a daughter, prompting the succession law changes. (Reuters: Nicolas Economou<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Japan’s Emperor Naruhito does not have a son, but he does have a daughter: the enormously popular Princess Aiko.<\/p>\n Chuo University professor Okawa Makoto, who specialises in imperial lineage and succession, said allowing a female emperor would be “the simplest solution”.<\/p>\n He said you would need to go back more than 600 years to find a common ancestor with the adoptees.<\/p>\n “To put it bluntly, they are practically complete strangers,” he said.<\/p>\n “This proposal involves welcoming such outsiders into the Imperial Family.”<\/p>\n The family tree of Japan’s imperial family includes Crown Prince Fumihito and his son, Prince Hitachi. (ABC News: Lindsay Dunbar<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Emperor Naruhito’s first eligible heir is his 60-year-old-brother, Crown Prince Fumihito, followed by Fumihito’s son, 19-year-old Prince Hisahito.<\/p>\n After that, the next \u2014 and final \u2014 man in line is the emperor’s 90-year-old uncle, Prince Hitachi.<\/p>\n It means if the 19-year-old prince did not have a son, the line would end within the next generation.<\/p>\n Princess Aiko, 24, enjoys a high level of support among the public and regularly attracts large crowds at events.<\/p>\n Tokyo resident, 59-year-old Miwa, said Princess Aiko was a “truly wonderful person”.<\/p>\n “I think everyone would like to see her become emperor,” she said, while out walking her dog, Merci, in the city’s Yoyogi Park.<\/p>\n Miwa, 59, is in favour of having a female emperor. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n A poll conducted in May by Mainichi Shimbun, a major Japanese newspaper, found 72 per cent of people supported having a female emperor.<\/p>\n Everyone the ABC spoke to in and around the park was in favour.<\/p>\n One 29-year-old woman said she “didn’t see it as a big deal” and “couldn’t pinpoint the real reason why some people are so adamant that it has to be a man”.<\/p>\n Her 40-year-old male friend said it was “completely out of step with the times”.<\/p>\n Tobai Juju, 17, said only allowing men to succeed was “outdated”.<\/p>\n “It’s discriminatory,” she said.<\/p>\n Her 16-year-old friend Oishi agreed and said she didn’t think being emperor “had anything to do with gender”.<\/p>\n Oishi and Tobai Juju both support the idea of allowing female empresses in Japan. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n A 25-year-old woman said she’d “love to see a female emperor” but supposed the “restrictions exist because tradition is being upheld”.<\/p>\n “But times have changed,” she said.<\/p>\n Japan’s first female Prime Minister, Takaichi Sanae, ushered through the recent changes to the law that will keep men on the throne.<\/p>\n‘Out of step with the times’<\/h2>\n
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‘Authority and legitimacy’ at stake<\/h2>\n