Since graduating last year, in Literature. at Gakushuin University, the same one where his father and other members of Japan’s royal family studied, which Princess Aiko has multiplied her official commitments. And the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, who celebrated her 24th birthday a few days agohas proved to be so popular that several voices have been relaunch the debate over Salic law, which dictates that only one man can inherit the throne of Japan. In a country with a strong patriarchal tradition, Sanae Takaichi broke a glass ceiling last October by becoming the first woman to head a Japanese government. But changing the law to put a woman on the throne could be a much bigger challenge.
For now, one thing is undeniable: the young princess’s appeal to the people. In addition to her work with the Japanese Red Cross, in June, Aiko accompanied her parents to Okinawa for the first time, on a visit to honor those killed in World War II. In August, in Nagasaki, the princess participated in a wreath-laying ceremony for the victims of the atomic bomb, following in the footsteps of her father, who always emphasized the importance of conveying the tragedy of war to young people. And in November, he made his first official solo trip abroad, to Laos.
Now, during the visit to Nagasáqui, it was not difficult to hear Aiko’s name being shouted by the people who went to the place to see the emperors. And you only need to look at two recent polls to realize that the vast majority of Japanese people would welcome a woman on the imperial throne. A study published in Manichi Shimbun revealed that 70% of respondents are in favor. Another survey carried out by the Kyodo news agency in 2024 showed 90% support.
With current law, Naruhito, 65, only has three possible heirs – his brother, Prince Fumihito, 60, his son and nephew, Prince Hisahito, 19, and his uncle, Prince Hitachi, 90.
But experts warn that changing the laws would not be easy, especially due to opposition from the most conservative members of Parliament. AND even Prime Minister Takaichi has already spoken out against changing the succession law.
“I think the situation is critical,” Hideya Kawanishi, a professor at Nagoya University and an expert on the monarchy, admitted to the Associated Press. The future depends entirely on Hisahito and his future wife’s ability to have a son. “Who will want to marry him? If anyone does, they will have to endure enormous pressure to have a male heir, while at the same time performing official duties with superhuman ability.”
The rules are determined by the Imperial Household Law of 1947. In theory, changing this law — a common law — is less complicated than revising the Constitution. A bill presented by the executive or members of parliament and its approval by a simple majority in both chambers would be sufficient, he explained to the The Country Makoto Okawa, professor of history at Chuo University in Tokyo. “However, any law relating to the imperial institution has exceptional weight for the Japanese State, Therefore, it is essential to reach a broad national consensus very carefully”, warns the same expert.
This debate surrounding the law of succession comes at a time when The Japanese royal house is faced with shrinking, not only due to the Salic law, but also the decision to withdraw their royal status from women in the family who marry commoners, which led several to leave. Reduced to 16 members, compared to 30 three decades ago, the royal family is still faced with the consequences of pressure for women to have sons. Her own Empress Masako, a Harvard-educated former diplomat, suffered a deep depression which kept her out of sight and secluded in the royal palace for almost a decade.
The challenges faced by the Japanese royal family are, in essence, a reflection of the current situation in Japan, with an increasingly aging population and a birth rate of 1.15 children per woman, the lowest in the world. If current trends continue, Japan’s population, currently around 124 million, is expected to fall to 87 million by 2070, when 40% of the population will be aged 65 or over.
Parliamentary monarchy, where the figure of the emperor may be mainly ceremonial, but where he is still a symbol of the State and the union of the Japanese, Japan has already debated changes to the law of succession in the past. The last time was in 2005, when the government proposed allowing a female monarch, but Hisahito’s birth gave nationalists an argument to scrap the proposal.
The limitation of succession to men from the paternal line dates back to the Imperial Household Law of 1889, which inspired the current law of 1947. The current emperor ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019 after his father, Akihito, abdicated.
Looking at History, the Japanese throne was almost always occupied by men. But there were times when it was not forbidden to women, there have been eight empresses reigning throughout the ten imperial dynasties – six of them between the end of the 6th century and the end of the 8th century. The last, Go-Sakuramachi, reigned more than two and a half centuries ago.