Hisahito turns 20 as Japan enshrines male-only succession — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Prince Hisahito turned 20 on Sunday, becoming second in line to Japan's 1,500-year-old Chrysanthemum Throne and the youngest of 16 members in the rapidly shrinking and aging imperial family.
- Japan's Parliament enacted a revised Imperial House Law in July that lifts the ban on adoption of male offspring from distant former royal families and lets female royals keep their status after marrying commoners, though their partners and children will not be royals.
- The revisions, backed by conservative Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, have been criticized as anachronistic and sexist, drawing protests from Japanese who view them as an attempt to eliminate Princess Aiko from ruling while justifying discrimination against women.
- Princess Aiko, the 24-year-old daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Hisahito's cousin, is the preferred successor among most Japanese despite her ineligibility as a woman.
- Hisahito, a biology sophomore at the University of Tsukuba near Tokyo, has begun taking on official duties, including attending a palace banquet for Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in May and praying for atomic bombing victims in Hiroshima.
- Experts say the revised rules will put Hisahito and his eventual wife under enormous pressure to bear a male child, determining the future of the imperial family.
- At his debut news conference last year, Hisahito said he hadn't thought about marriage timing or a partner, expressing hopes to study overseas and meet people from different backgrounds.
Why it matters: The revised law entrenches a male-only succession system a majority of Japanese oppose, leaving Princess Aiko—the public's preferred successor—permanently ineligible and placing Hisahito and his future wife under stated pressure to produce a male heir or see the imperial line's future unresolved.
Ask SkimNews
