A change in the heir for Japan’s monarchy

Japanese citizens call for female successors in new poll

TOKYO— It has been nearly 250 years since a woman last held the title to Japan’s Chrysanthemum Throne, and almost that long since an emperor abdicated the position.

Now, as Japan moves to accommodate Emperor Akihito’s desire to give up the throne before he dies, many Japanese believe it is also time to clear the way for a woman to reign again someday. The Imperial Household Law, which governs the succession of emperors in the world’s oldest monarchy, makes no provision for abdication. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s governing party indicated this month that it would consider onetime legislation to let the emperor give up the throne.

Polls show that a vast majority of the Japanese public believes the law should be permanently overhauled, not just superseded once.

What’s more, the bulk of respondents said the law, which has been in place since 1947, should also be changed to admit women as rightful heirs to the throne. This month, when a government-appointed panel tacitly recommended special legislation that would allow only Emperor Akihito to abdicate, it made no mention of the possibility of admitting women as heirs to the throne.

If the emperor is allowed to abdicate, he will be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 56. If the law changes to allow female successors, next in line would be the crown prince’s only child, Princess Aiko, 15. Under current law, his successor would be his nephew, Prince Hisahito, 10, the only boy of his generation in the imperial family.