Succession to the throne - Koukeisho

Japanese: 皇位継承 - こういけいしょう

The Imperial House Law stipulates that the heir to the throne must be a male descendant of the Imperial line, and that no female descendants have the right to inherit. The current order of succession is (1) the Crown Prince, (2) Prince Akishino, (3) Prince Hisahito, (4) Prince Hitachi, (5) Prince Mikasa Takahito, (6) Prince Tomohito, and (7) Prince Katsura. Nine girls have been born in the Imperial family, and no boys have been born in the 41 years since Prince Akishino was born, so there has been a debate about whether the law should be revised to allow female emperors or emperors of female lineage who are related to the Emperor only on the mother's side. In European royal families, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Denmark have queens, and Sweden, Norway, and Belgium have amended their laws to allow the eldest child to succeed to the throne regardless of gender. Japan has also had eight teenage empresses in the past, and the restriction of succession to male descendants began with the old Imperial House Law in the Meiji era. However, all of the empresses in the past have been female descendants of the male line, and they have only played a role as an interim measure to male descendants, so the male-line principle has never been broken. In addition, many difficult issues will arise with the revision. (1) Should the ranking of existing male successors be made equal for both sexes, or should male priority be maintained? (2) How should the spouse of a female emperor be treated? (3) Will married women also be able to establish new Imperial families, and will the number of Imperial family members continue to increase significantly? In December 2004, Prime Minister Koizumi established the "Council of Experts on the Imperial House Law" (10 members including Chairman Hiroyuki Yoshikawa) as a private advisory body, and on November 24, 2005, the council submitted a report stating that the order of succession to the throne should be given to the eldest child regardless of gender, and that the scope of the Imperial family should be a permanent Imperial family system in which women, including themselves, remain in the Imperial family even after marriage. However, when it was revealed that Princess Kiko, wife of Prince Akishino, was pregnant, the submission of the bill to the Diet was postponed. However, since there is only one male in the generation of the Emperor's grandchild, Prince Hisahito, there is a possibility that the debate over the Imperial law will be reignited.

(Katsumi Iwai, Asahi Shimbun reporter / 2008)

Source : "Chiezo" published by Asahi Shimbun Publications Co., Ltd. About Chiezo

Japanese:

皇室典範では、皇位継承者は「皇統に属する男系の男子」と定められ、女子に継承権はない。現在の継承順位は、(1)皇太子、(2)秋篠宮、(3)同悠仁(ひさひと)親王、(4)常陸宮、(5)三笠宮崇仁親王、(6)同寛仁親王、(7)桂宮。皇室では9人女児誕生が続き、秋篠宮誕生以来41年間、男子が生まれていなかったため、典範を改正して女性や母方にだけ天皇の血筋を引く女系の天皇も認めるべきだとの議論が起きた。欧州の王室では英国、オランダ、デンマークが女王で、スウェーデン、ノルウェー、ベルギーでは男女にかかわりなく長子が王位を継ぐ法改正を行った。日本でも過去には8人10代の女帝があり、男子継承に限定したのは明治時代の旧皇室典範から。しかし、歴代女帝はいずれも男系の女子であり、男系男子への中継ぎ的役割にとどまり、男系主義が崩れたことは一度もない。また改正に伴い、多くの難問が出てくる。(1)現存の男子継承資格者との順位づけを男女平等とするのか、男子優先を残すのか、(2)女性天皇の配偶者の扱いをどうするのか、(3)結婚した女子も新宮家を起こし、皇族は大幅に増え続ける、など。小泉首相は2004年12月、私的諮問機関として「皇室典範に関する有識者会議」(吉川弘之座長ら10人)を設置し、同会議は05年11月24日、皇位継承順位を男女にかかわらず長子を優先し、皇族の範囲は女性も含めて結婚後も皇室に残る永世皇族制とする報告書をまとめ提出した。しかし秋篠宮妃紀子さまの懐妊が明らかとなり、法案の国会提出は見送られた。ただ天皇の孫の世代の男子は悠仁親王1人だけなので、典範論議が再燃する可能性もある。

(岩井克己朝日新聞記者／ 2008年)

出典　(株)朝日新聞出版発行「知恵蔵」知恵蔵について　情報

<<: Koi Gekasouden - Koi Gekasouden

>>: Regional metropolis