Japan's abdication sparked debate over female succession

The historic abdication of Japanese Emperor Akihito later this month revived worries about the future of one of the world's oldest royal families, given its rules hereditary inheritance reserved for men.

As it stands, the fate of the Japanese imperial family rests on Hisahito, 12 years old, son of the younger brother of Crown Prince Naruhito and the last eligible heir.

Japan's secular succession would be broken if Hisahito did not have a male child, as the Imperial Household Law, in force since 1947, did not allow women to ascend the throne chrysanthemum.

This means that Naruhito's only daughter, 17-year-old Princess Aiko, does not want to inherit the throne.

Although public opinion seems to be changing to modify inheritance laws to allow women to govern, the chances of a concrete reform seem weak.

According to a survey conducted daily by Yomiuri Shimbun daily from October to November, nearly two-thirds want the law to be revised to allow women to be the legitimate heir.

"I'm just wondering why Princess Aiko can not get on the throne," said AFP Mizuho, ​​a Tokyo resident aged thirty or so who had not told her given that his first name.

"If it's just because she's a girl, then I think it's moved into the present era," she said.

"Why do not we allow heiresses like Queen Elizabeth in the British monarchy?"

According to the current rules, female members of the imperial family also lose their royal status when they marry a commoner, which is highlighted by the involvement of one of the granddaughters from Akihito, Princess Mako, with her sweetheart from college.

– "Goddess of the sun" –

Traditionalists vehemently oppose any change in the law, but there have been up to eight empresses, including the last, Gosakuramachi, on the throne about 250 years ago.

And the imperial family, which has a story filled with myths dating back more than 2600 years, would descend from the legendary sun goddess Amaterasu.

When parliament pbaded a single rule authorizing the resignation of the aging emperor in 2017, he also urged the government to "study quickly" reforms that would allow the sons of royal women to become emperors.

Tokyo said the talks would begin shortly after May 1, when Naruhito acceded to the throne.

But the government also decided that only male royal adults would attend the main abdication ceremony, during which the new emperor will inherit traditional costumes such as a sacred sword and jewel.

Politicians dodge the impending problem of male succession only because they "do not want to take on this responsibility," Yuji Otabe, a professor of Japanese history told AFP. University of Shizuoka Wellbeing.

"If you think of the hereditary system, a woman is also of imperial blood," he said, expressing his concerns about the future of the royal royal lineage if the situation did not change.

– Great pressure & # 39; –

Another consequence of the line of succession reserved for men is the enormous pressure exerted to design the boys so that they maintain the line.

The future emperor and empress are under enormous pressure to have a boy, but their only child – born in 2001 – is Princess Aiko.

The "crisis" was avoided when Prince Hisahito was born in 2006 from his younger brother Akishino, which means that the male line could continue.

After Crown Prince Naruhito took the throne, Akishino is next, followed by Hisahito.

Crown Princess Masako, a former high-flying diplomat, has struggled for years against a stress-related illness after joining the traditional home, which some have put under pressure from the production of a male heir .

Hideto Tsuboi, a professor of literature and modern Japanese history at the International Center for Research on Japanese Studies, explained that Masako's disease embodies the difference between Japanese royalty and British royalty.

Members of the Japanese imperial family "do not enjoy normal human rights because of too much emphasis on" the succession system in the male lineage compared to the British monarchy, Tsuboi said.

The badyst Otabe also stressed the "great pressure" exerted on a woman marrying in the imperial family to have a son.

"Who would like to marry (Hisahito)?" He asked.

A Tokyo resident, Mizuho, ​​called for change by saying, "I really do not think it's a man."

"As long as the person has the necessary qualities to conquer the throne, it does not matter whether the heir is a man or a woman."