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๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡พ Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Takaichi defends imperial law revision, says female succession was not part of the debate

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Approved/passed
  • Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan's revised Imperial House Law focuses on maintaining the size of the imperial family, not allowing female succession.
  • The measure, approved in July, lets female imperial family members retain their status after marrying commoners.
  • The revision has drawn opposition criticism and public unease, while a Kyodo poll found 80% support for allowing a woman to ascend the throne.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is defending her revision of the Imperial House Law while drawing a firm line around what the reform does not address: whether a woman can inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne.

โ€œThe question of allowing an empress, an issue frequently raised by the public, concerns the nature of imperial succession and falls outside the scope of ensuring the number of members of the Imperial Family,โ€ Takaichi wrote on X. She said the current reform instead aims to preserve the size of the imperial family.

Approved in mid-July with the governing coalition's absolute majority, the measure allows female members of the imperial family to retain their status after marrying ordinary citizens. That reverses the previous rule under which women who married commoners left the family genealogy and lost their official roles.

The question of allowing an empress, an issue frequently raised by the public, concerns the nature of imperial succession and falls outside the scope of ensuring the number of members of the Imperial Family.

· Sanae TakaichiJapan's prime minister explained why female succession was excluded from the specific legal revision.

โ€œThis reform has opened, for the first time, the possibility for women members of the Imperial Family to retain their status after marriage,โ€ Takaichi said. โ€œThis measure is crucial to maintaining the size of the Imperial Family.โ€

Emperor Naruhito, Japan's symbolic head of state without executive power, has three possible heirs: his brother Fumihito, 60, his nephew Hisahito, 19, and his uncle, Prince Masahito of Hitachi, 90. The imperial family has 16 members, 11 of them women. The amendment has caused discontent among opposition parties over the lack of consensus and among some members of the public because it retains male-only succession. A Kyodo poll in May found that 80% supported female succession.

This reform has opened, for the first time, the possibility for women members of the Imperial Family to retain their status after marriage. This measure is crucial to maintaining the size of the Imperial Family.

· Sanae TakaichiShe described the change allowing female imperial family members to retain their status after marrying commoners.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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