TOKYO - The Japanese public may not accept the enlargement of the imperial family through the adoption of new male members from former branches that lost their royal status after World War II, a cousin of former Emperor Akihito said in a recent interview.
"I think it would be difficult for an adopted person to be smoothly accepted by the public as an imperial member," said Asahiro Kuni, 81, who belongs to one of the 11 former imperial branches that are under renewed attention as the government seeks to devise measures to tackle the declining size of the imperial family.
He also said it would be challenging for a person who has not received "special education" to suddenly assume the role of a member of the imperial family, adding, "They would require tremendous determination."
The government is pushing to revise the Imperial House Law to sustain the imperial family, which has been dwindling under a system that requires female members to leave the family upon marriage to commoners. The number of heirs eligible to take over the Chrysanthemum Throne has also declined as the law limits succession to males who have an emperor on their father's side.
The envisioned revision includes the adoption of males from former branch families descended through the paternal line from emperors. The 11 branches share with the imperial family a common ancestor who lived around 600 years ago.
Kuni said that former imperial family members have "lived freely" since the end of the war in 1945 and called for "respect of the wishes of individuals."
In 1947, 51 members of the 11 branch families were divested of their royal status, while the three families of the brothers of Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, retained their status under the U.S.-led postwar occupation.
Kuni was aged 3 and 18th in line to the throne when his family's imperial status was stripped.
He remembers being invited to the Imperial Palace during the New Year's holidays when he was young and greeting Emperor Showa and the empress.
Even after reaching adulthood, Kuni said he took part in social gatherings attended by current and former members of the imperial family but did not speak about his background to co-workers because he did not want to be treated differently.
"I have not gone through daily life thinking that I am a former imperial family member," he said.
A father of two daughters who has worked as an engineer for Japanese industrial conglomerate Hitachi Ltd., Kuni also said he had not thought about returning to the imperial family.
Even if there are former branch members willing to be adopted, "a tough road awaits them," he said, questioning whether a person who has never received an imperial education could meet public expectations.
Kuni believes that the imperial family serves as an "emotional anchor" for Japanese people and he is supportive of females ascending the throne, saying "there is no point if the imperial family is lost altogether."
For the imperial family to endure, he said, "I hope the government will study the issue without ruling out a wide range of options, taking into account the views of the public and former imperial family members."
Known as the world's oldest hereditary monarchy, the Japanese imperial family has narrowly escaped a potential succession crisis, with Prince Hisahito's birth in 2006 the first of a male imperial family member since 1965, when his father Crown Prince Fumihito was born.
Emperor Naruhito, the crown prince's brother, and Empress Masako have one daughter, Princess Aiko.
In rare public remarks amid moves to revise the Imperial House Law, the emperor, while noting that he would not directly comment on the system, told a press conference in mid-June that he hopes discussions will take shape in a way that will "gain people's understanding."
