Japan's Crown Prince Akishino (second from left) and Crown Princess Kiko (second from right) posing with their children, Prince Hisahito and Princess Kako. - PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO (AFP): Japanese lawmakers kicked off discussions on Friday about possible relaxations to the imperial family's strict succession rules, although women will likely remain barred from the Chrysanthemum Throne.
The imperial family has a myth-filled history dating back more than 2,600 years but Japan currently has only one heir: Emperor Naruhito's 17-year-old nephew Prince Hisahito.
Naruhito's only child, Princess Aiko, 22, cannot succeed her 64-year-old father due to male-only succession rules.
Female royals must also leave the family when they wed outside, as happened with former princess Mako Komuro in 2021 after marrying her university sweetheart.
The start of Friday's cross-party discussions took seven years to get off the ground, and the enactment of any changes will likely be a lengthy process.
The talks followed a one-off rule in 2017 that allowed the ageing then-emperor Akihito, now 90, to step down two years later, and also urged the government to "swiftly study" succession rules.
The ruling party and opposition lawmakers are expected to discuss two suggestions a specially commissioned panel submitted to the government in 2021.
One is to allow royal women to keep their title and public duties when they wed outside the family.
The second is to allow men from 11 former branches of the royal family abolished after World War II to "rejoin" the direct line through adoption.
The panel's report recommended that male lineage rules be preserved at least until Prince Hisahito becomes emperor.
Resistance to changing long-held tradition among conservative lawmakers who revere the royals as the perfect example of a patriarchal Japanese family makes female succession unlikely any time soon.
This is despite the latest Kyodo News poll suggesting 90-percent support among voters for female succession.
The emperor holds no political power under Japan's post-World War II constitution but carries huge symbolic importance, and surveys suggest strong public support.
There have been as many as eight female monarchs throughout history, although their rule has often been temporary. The last, Gosakuramachi, was on the throne about 250 years ago. - AFP
