Should Japan’s royal women be able to stay in the imperial family even if they marry outsiders? One of Japan’s most well-known, and controversial, female journalists says “no.”
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| Japanese Journalist Weighs in on the Princess Problem |
At a government hearing on Tuesday, Yoshiko Sakurai, a journalist known for her nationalistic comments about World War II, opposed a proposal to reverse the country’s current Imperial House Law, which boots princesses from the royal family if they marry commoners.
That rule is threatening to rapidly thin down Japan’s 23-member royal family, eight of whom are over the age of 60 and three of whom are children - and thus aren’t readily deployable for imperial duties. Of the remaining 12, half are unmarried women between the ages of 20 and 30. A spate of weddings could thus leave the royals with only a handful of active adults to attend ceremonies and grace public events.
That rule is threatening to rapidly thin down Japan’s 23-member royal family, eight of whom are over the age of 60 and three of whom are children - and thus aren’t readily deployable for imperial duties. Of the remaining 12, half are unmarried women between the ages of 20 and 30. A spate of weddings could thus leave the royals with only a handful of active adults to attend ceremonies and grace public events.
Tuesday’s hearing was the third in a series that started in January, when Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura announced the government would be reopening the issue when the aim of re-drafting the Imperial House Law. Mr. Fujimura made clear, however, that the issue of allowing a woman to take the throne would not be discussed.
The two previous hearings featured testimony from supporters of letting women remain in the family after marriage. Tuesday was the first time opponents to the suggestion spoke.
Ms. Sakurai, who heads the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, said that “reform of the Imperial House Law is inevitable,” but warned against amendments that could cause “a qualitative change to the system.” In her view, the tradition of preserving the royal lineage through the male bloodline must be defended at any cost. That tradition could be endangered if offspring from non-imperial men were brought into the royal family, she said.
Instead, Ms. Sakurai suggested that the government recognize distant patrilineal relatives as royals. After World War II, she explained, 11 branches of the royal family were stripped of their titles. Four should be reinstated, she said.
“There were too many, so they were cut back. Now we’re in the complete opposite position, why can’t we take the opposite measure?” she asked. “We must craft our society with our hopes and our feelings as Japanese people.”
Ms. Sakurai said she isn’t anti-feminist, however. “This is the age of women. We should create a system where those lively, elegant princesses can continue to be active even after they marry,” she stated, insisting the government must decide how they can continue to support the family in its duties as the emperor and empress age.
Of course, looming behind the princess problem is the bigger one of securing male progeny to carry on the imperial line. Only seven of the 23 members of the royal family, excluding the emperor, are men. The birth of Prince Hisahito, the grandson of current Emperor Akihito and the first boy to be born to the family in over 40 years, will stave off a genealogical crisis for a few generations.
In 2005, then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi opened discussion about allowing women to become empresses, but the movement was quickly stopped by his conservative successor Shinzo Abe.
The two previous hearings featured testimony from supporters of letting women remain in the family after marriage. Tuesday was the first time opponents to the suggestion spoke.
Ms. Sakurai, who heads the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, said that “reform of the Imperial House Law is inevitable,” but warned against amendments that could cause “a qualitative change to the system.” In her view, the tradition of preserving the royal lineage through the male bloodline must be defended at any cost. That tradition could be endangered if offspring from non-imperial men were brought into the royal family, she said.
Instead, Ms. Sakurai suggested that the government recognize distant patrilineal relatives as royals. After World War II, she explained, 11 branches of the royal family were stripped of their titles. Four should be reinstated, she said.
“There were too many, so they were cut back. Now we’re in the complete opposite position, why can’t we take the opposite measure?” she asked. “We must craft our society with our hopes and our feelings as Japanese people.”
Ms. Sakurai said she isn’t anti-feminist, however. “This is the age of women. We should create a system where those lively, elegant princesses can continue to be active even after they marry,” she stated, insisting the government must decide how they can continue to support the family in its duties as the emperor and empress age.
Of course, looming behind the princess problem is the bigger one of securing male progeny to carry on the imperial line. Only seven of the 23 members of the royal family, excluding the emperor, are men. The birth of Prince Hisahito, the grandson of current Emperor Akihito and the first boy to be born to the family in over 40 years, will stave off a genealogical crisis for a few generations.
In 2005, then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi opened discussion about allowing women to become empresses, but the movement was quickly stopped by his conservative successor Shinzo Abe.
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