TOKYO - The following are questions and answers about changes to Japan's Imperial House Law enacted by parliament on Friday.
Q: Why has Japan revised the Imperial House Law?
A: The revision to the 1947 Imperial House Law aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of the world's oldest hereditary monarchy as the number of imperial family members continues to decline.
Only male members of the imperial family who descend from the emperor through the male line can ascend the throne, while female members lose their imperial status upon marrying commoners. The family now has 16 members -- five men and 11 women.
Those eligible to succeed Emperor Naruhito, 66, are his younger brother, Crown Prince Fumihito, 60, his nephew, Prince Hisahito, 19, and his uncle, Prince Hitachi, 90.
Q: How has the law changed?
A: One change would allow the imperial family to adopt males aged 15 or older descended through the male line from 11 former branch families stripped of their imperial status in 1947 under the U.S. occupation following Japan's defeat in World War II.
The 11 former branch families and the current emperor share a common male-line ancestor dating back around 600 years, making them extremely distant relatives separated by 36 to 38 degrees of kinship.
The other change will allow female members to retain their imperial status after marrying commoners, although their spouses and children will not become members of the imperial family. The women will be entitled to the same annual allowance as male members, set at 30.5 million yen ($188,000) per person for fiscal 2026.
Q: Would adopted male members be eligible to ascend the throne?
A: No. Adopted male members themselves would be barred from becoming emperor, but their male-line descendants would be eligible to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Q: What about female emperors?
A: The law will not pave the way for women or people descended from an emperor through the female line to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne. Although opinion polls suggest a female emperor has strong public support, many conservatives, including members of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party, want to preserve the tradition of limiting succession to males descended from an emperor through the male line.
Q: Has there never been a female emperor in Japan?
A: Japan has had female emperors before. Among the 126 monarchs in Japan's history, eight women have occupied the throne across 10 reigns, including Empress Suiko and Empress Jito. All belonged to the male imperial line.
Q: When did momentum gain toward revising the law?
A: Momentum began to build in 2017, when Japan cleared the way for the first abdication of an emperor in two centuries. A government panel later put forward recommendations on how to ensure a sufficient number of imperial family members. Cross-party talks began in January 2022 but made little progress due to disagreements over allowing men from former branch families to be adopted into the imperial family.
Q: Why now?
A: A breakthrough came in February, when the LDP under Takaichi won a landslide victory that weakened the opposition and paved the way for the resumption of cross-party talks. The talks produced a legislative "consensus" on the two major changes incorporated into the revised law.
Q: Could there be further changes to the law?
A: The revised law provides for a review roughly every 30 years if necessary.
