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Julian Ryall

Japan’s public has once again signalled strong support for a woman ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne, but Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the country’s first female leader, is pushing in a different direction.
A Mainichi newspaper poll published on Wednesday found that 61 per cent of respondents believed the law should be changed to allow a woman to become emperor, against just 9 per cent who said the throne should remain reserved for a man.
The emperor is defined in the 1947 constitution as the “symbol of the state and the unity of the people”, but succession under the separate Imperial House Law is restricted to male descendants in the male line.
The new survey reinforces a pattern in polling over the past decade or so, during which support for allowing a woman to ascend the throne has repeatedly remained high, but also lays bare a widening gap between voters and a government that appears set on preserving male-only succession.
Any hope that Takaichi might use the moment to open the way to a female emperor appears to have faded quickly. Instead, the staunch conservative has signalled that she wants to shore up the existing system by expanding its pool of male heirs.

Speaking at a convention of senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Tokyo on Sunday, Takaichi said she was determined to accelerate discussions on changes to the Imperial House Law, saying they were “urgently needed”.
“Our top priority will be the proposal to use the adoption system to restore the imperial family status of male descendants in the paternal line,” she said.
In effect, that would restore branches of the imperial family that were stripped of their status after Japan’s surrender in 1945, expanding the pool of male heirs and potential future emperors.
Under that plan, the law would still not be changed to allow the firstborn child of the reigning emperor to assume the throne, regardless of gender.
The continuity of the imperial line is already fragile.
Emperor Naruhito has only one child, Princess Aiko, who is not eligible to ascend the throne under the current law. The emperor’s younger brother, Akishino, is next in line, followed by his son, 19-year-old Prince Hisahito.
Beyond Hisahito, there are no heirs, meaning the family would face a serious succession crisis under the current rules unless he were to have a male child.
Sumie Kawakami, a social sciences lecturer at Yamanashi Gakuin University, said the poll results were more telling than the government’s resistance.
“I find these figures very encouraging, particularly seeing those who are opposed falling to single figures,” she said. “It suggests to me that ordinary Japanese people are becoming more progressive in their attitudes and I think that is a reflection of changes in our society over the last decade or more.
“Young people today are more aware of gender equality and that generation is playing a greater part in society as the ‘baby-boomers’ age and retire,” she said.
“The attitudes of younger people are becoming mainstream, although on this issue it does appear that, despite the overwhelming support for an empress, it is still going to take time.”


The Mainichi poll also suggested that support for a female emperor cut across genders, ages and political affiliations.
Among men, 57 per cent said they supported having an empress and 13 per cent were opposed. Among women, 66 per cent supported the idea, with just 5 per cent against.
Perhaps surprisingly, given the common assumption that younger generations are driving calls for change, the strongest support came from people aged 70 or older, where 71 per cent backed an empress.
Support was above 50 per cent for both genders and across all age groups other than those aged 18 to 29, although pollsters said that reflected the large share of respondents in that group – 42 per cent – who said they felt neither way.
Backing also crossed party lines, with 59 per cent of LDP voters disagreeing with Takaichi’s position and supporting an empress, rising to 76 per cent among supporters of the largest opposition party, the Centrist Reform Alliance.
Even among supporters of the far-right Sanseito party, more than half supported changing the law to allow an empress.
Diehard conservatives, however, remain committed to preserving the male-only lineage.
“Yes, I think there has been a shift in public opinion and there is greater support for an empress now than in the past, but my feeling is that the problem has been avoided because Prince Hisahito is now the clear heir to the throne,” said Ken Kato, an LDP-supporting owner of a small business in Tokyo.
“The prince is being groomed to take on that role and it would be extremely unfair to him if the law was changed now so that he could not become emperor in the future,” he said.
Tadashi Anno, a professor of politics at Tokyo’s Sophia University, said Princess Aiko’s sudden popularity with the Japanese public was likely a function of her father’s “exemplary” behaviour while he waited to assume the role from his father, Emperor Akihito.
By contrast, Prince Akishino, Naruhito’s younger brother and next in line to the throne, had a more chequered reputation that sometimes landed him in the tabloids, Anno said.
There has been some criticism of Takaichi on social media for what many see as her failure, as Japan’s first female prime minister, to support the clear public backing for an empress, but Anno dismissed that line of attack.
“She may be Japan’s first female prime minister, but she was not elected because she was female,” he said. “She was elected because she was a conservative and that was what her support base primarily wanted.”

There is, however, a clear groundswell in favour of an empress, as well as a growing sense among supporters that change will come eventually.
“It is noteworthy that public opinion is showing a tendency to accept a female emperor in the long term,” read one comment on the Mainichi’s website. “The symbolic emperor system is an institution that operates on the basis of the understanding and support of the people, and discussions on succession qualifications must be considered within that premise.”
Another added, “If the country does not decide to recognise a female emperor, it could simply jeopardise the very existence of the imperial system. I believe many citizens are worried about this.
“Recognising a female emperor would be in the national interest and would send a powerful message to the people.”


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A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman taking the throne, even as the prime minister moves to preserve male-line succession


A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman taking the throne, even as the prime minister moves to preserve male-line succession.


Sanae Takaichi

Emperor Naruhito

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

Japanese public backs a female emperor while Takaichi pushes conservative succession plan

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman taking the throne, even as the prime minister moves to preserve male-line succession

A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman taking the throne, even as the prime minister moves to preserve male-line succession