Asian nation with 1,500-year-old imperial line insists only men can become emperor in policy revision

Japan’s Parliament voted Friday to enshrine male-only succession for the imperial throne, portion of a monarchy that traces its origins backmost astir 1,500 years.

Lawmakers did truthful by revising an Imperial House Law dating backmost to the 1800s, contempt warnings from experts that limiting succession to men successful the paternal enactment volition hasten the diminution of Japan’s shrinking and aging imperial family, according to the Associated Press.

To code the dwindling fig of eligible heirs, the revisions let distant antheral relatives to beryllium adopted into the imperial household to begetter aboriginal successors. However, strict rules stay successful spot limiting the throne to men with royal blood. The changes besides let princesses to clasp their royal presumption aft marrying commoners.

The caller rules passed by Parliament travel arsenic galore Japanese had been calling for Princess Aiko, Emperor Naruhito’s 24-year-old daughter, to beryllium allowed to win him — present an impossibility.

Japan's Princess Aiko, left, the girl of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, arrives to people the 110th day of the decease of the woman of erstwhile emperor Meiji astatine Meiji Shrine successful Tokyo, connected April 10, 2024. (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP)

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"The emperor is simply a symbolic figure, and I don’t spot wherefore women cannot service successful the role," Junichiro Tsujimaru, a 78-year-old sushi concatenation founder, told the AP.

Under existent law, the 66-year-old emperor's younger member is adjacent successful line. After that, his 19-year-old nephew, Prince Hisahito, volition inherit the throne, and past the emperor's 90-year-old uncle.

Hisahito is the lone lad to beryllium calved successful 4 decades, and lone 5 of the 16 adults successful the imperial household are men.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and different conservatives accidental the antheral bloodline is the root of the emperor's authorization and legitimacy.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a quality league astatine the premier minister's bureau successful Tokyo, Oct. 21, 2025. (Eugene Hoshiko)

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"It’s a declaration to forestall pistillate monarchs … and to support the male-lineage astatine each costs," Hideya Kawanishi, a Nagoya University adept connected monarchy, told the AP. "They cannot accidental it’s antheral chauvinism, truthful they telephone it tradition."

Chizuko Ueno, a salient feminist and sociologist, precocious suggested it was ironic that Japan's archetypal pistillate premier curate was the 1 to guarantee male-only succession.

Ueno said the caller rules "treat antheral royals arsenic stallions and enactment pistillate royals nether unit arsenic ‘childbearing machines’ to nutrient antheral offspring."

Japan has had 8 empresses descended from the antheral enactment successful its centuries-long past arsenic a hereditary monarchy. The past pistillate to reign was Empress Go-Sakuramachi, who sat connected the throne from 1762 until 1771, erstwhile she abdicated successful favour of her nephew.

Japan's Prince Hisahito, right, attends his coming-of-age rituals connected his 19th day astatine the Imperial Palace successful Tokyo, connected Sept. 6, 2025. (Japan Pool/Kyodo News via AP)

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Female eligibility for the throne was archetypal eliminated successful 1890 nether the archetypal Imperial House Law.

That alteration was carried implicit into the modern Imperial House Law, enacted successful 1947, the aforesaid twelvemonth Japan’s caller constitution stripped the emperor of governing authorization aft the country’s decision successful World War II.

Like Britain’s royal family, Japan’s imperial household remains an important nationalist symbol.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.