Japan has only 3 throne successors, royal rules changed:King to adopt distant male relatives to save dynasty; Princess Aiko cannot become emperor

Japan’s Parliament made a major change to the law related to royal succession on July 17. Under the new law, the Imperial Family will now be able to adopt distant male relatives aged 15 years or older and bring them back into the royal family. Additionally, female members of the Imperial Family will no longer lose their royal status and official duties even after marrying commoners. However, the most important rule remains unchanged. In Japan, only men can become emperors. This means Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito, will still not be eligible to become the future heir to the throne. Why did Japan need to change the rules of the Imperial Family? Japan’s Imperial Family is considered the world’s oldest continuously existing royal dynasty, but it is currently facing a serious succession crisis. The current Emperor has only one daughter. She cannot become the heir because the law allows only men to inherit the throne. The Imperial Family currently has only three possible successors. The first in line is Emperor Naruhito’s younger brother, Prince Fumihito, followed by his 19-year-old son Prince Hisahito, and third is 90-year-old Prince Hitachi. If the number of male heirs does not increase in the future, the succession crisis could become even more serious. The government had two options: Why did the government choose the second option? The issue of allowing a female Emperor has been debated in Japan for many years. Opinion polls have shown that a majority of Japanese citizens support the idea. In a 2024 Kyodo News survey, 90% of respondents backed a female Emperor. However, conservative leaders of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have opposed the move. They argue that Japan’s Imperial Family has followed a male-line succession system for nearly 2,000 years. According to them, if a woman becomes Emperor and her children later inherit the throne, the tradition of the male lineage would be broken. They believe this tradition defines Japan’s monarchy and should not be changed. Because of this, the government chose not to amend the law to allow female Emperors or children of female members to inherit the throne. Instead, it opted for the second solution. What are the 11 former royal branches that Emperors can now adopt from? The Emperor has now been given the power to adopt members to secure succession. However, he cannot adopt just anyone. He can only adopt male descendants from 11 former royal branches. Before World War II, Japan’s Imperial Family did not consist only of the main royal line. It also included 11 separate royal branches. Members of these branches were also male descendants of the Emperor and could become heirs to the throne if needed. In 1947, after World War II, the US-led occupation administration and the Japanese government decided to reduce the size of the Imperial Family. Under this decision, 51 members from these 11 branches lost their royal status. They became ordinary citizens, and their legal connection with the Imperial Family ended. After the rule change, the number of male members in the Imperial Family continued to decline. At the same time, female members who married commoners were required by law to leave the Imperial Family. This further reduced the size of the royal family and deepened the succession crisis. This is why Japan has changed the rules after nearly 79 years. Under the new law, male descendants aged 15 years or older from these 11 former royal branches can be legally adopted and brought back into the Imperial Family. Women will not lose royal status after marrying commoners Under the new law, female members of the Imperial Family will no longer lose their royal status and official duties if they marry commoners. This is a major change from the previous rule. Earlier, women who married ordinary citizens had to leave the Imperial Family. The case of Princess Mako is considered one of the biggest reasons behind this reform. Princess Mako, the niece of Emperor Naruhito, married her college classmate Kei Komuro in 2021. The two had met in 2013 at Tokyo’s International Christian University. The couple’s relationship became controversial across Japan after they reportedly got engaged privately. Their wedding took place in October 2021 in a simple ceremony without the traditional procession and grand celebrations. After the marriage, Mako had to give up her royal status under the law and moved to New York with her husband, who works as a lawyer. Mako also refused the government payment of around £1 million (approximately ₹11 crore) that is usually given to female royals leaving the Imperial Family. She became the first member of the Imperial Family to do so after World War II. ​