Princess Aiko: Which is why she will probably never become Japan’s empress

Princess Aiko
Which is why she will probably never ascend the throne of Japan

Will Princess Aiko, 20, one day ascend the throne of Japan and rule the country as empress? It’s a question last discussed in the Japanese parliament 17 years ago – and for good reason: the ban on female succession prohibits women from being considered in the line of succession; but the imperial family has waited in vain for male descendants over the past decades. Will Japan’s monarchy die out if the reform of a female empress fails?

Princess Aiko of Japan is currently ineligible for the throne

The law prohibiting women from becoming empresses was introduced in 1889. At the time, the Prussian government, which had banned monarchs of female descent, was considered a model – and so Japan also adopted this basic feature in its budget law.

A decision that caused discussions as early as 2005. Because Japan’s monarchy lacks male descendants. There are currently three heirs who could take over the reigns from Emperor Naruhito, 61: Naruhito’s brother Crown Prince Akishino, 56, his son Prince Hisahito, 15, and Prince Masahito of Hitachi. The latter is the uncle of the current emperor and celebrated his 86th birthday in November. The inclusion of female heiresses could solve the problem of the Japanese monarchy in one fell swoop. In 2005, debate in Parliament came to a standstill due to the birth of Prince Hisahito. But the problem hasn’t gone away.

Japan’s government is looking for solutions

Rather than scrapping the ban on a future empress, conservatives in the government see other measures as the solution. For one, royals who want to marry civilly – as Princess Mako, 30, 2021 did – should not lose their royal status but remain part of the imperial family. However, it should still be strictly forbidden to transfer the title to a civil person by marriage and to the offspring. Thus, this solution would also not produce any new male heirs to the throne.

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Japan’s nationalists therefore want to enable the adoption of men from former imperial families. The families in question were deprived of status after World War II. With the reunification of families and the possibility of adoption, the monarchy could continue without women. However, only boys from the eleven side branches of the imperial family should be able to be adopted here.

So it doesn’t look like Princess Aiko would one day become empress, even though polls show that the people would accept, even support, a woman in power. An early reform that would allow Aiko to ascend the throne is not in sight. Rather, the government seems to be pinning all its hopes on young Prince Hisahito, who will one day have to father a son to save the monarchy.

Sources used: asiatimes.com, adelswelt.de

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