Japan's parliament keeps throne male-only, adopts distant relatives to rescue the imperial line

The vote

Japan's upper house approved the revision of the Imperial Household Law by 184 votes to 57 on Friday, 17 July 2026, one week after the lower house passed the bill. It is the first major change to the 1947 law and a priority of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Liberal Democratic Party. The government framed the measure as essential to secure the future of the Chrysanthemum Throne, the world's oldest continuous hereditary monarchy, which tradition dates to 660 BC.

It's a declaration to prevent female monarchs... and to defend the male-lineage at all costs. They cannot say it's male chauvinism, so they call it tradition.

What the law changes

The revision introduces two main novelties. First, it permits the imperial family to adopt unmarried, childless male descendants aged 15 or older from 11 former collateral branches. These families were excluded from the imperial register after Japan's defeat in World War II. The adoptees themselves cannot ascend the throne, but their future sons will be eligible. Second, princesses may now retain their imperial status after marrying a commoner, reversing the rule that forced them to leave the family upon marriage. The law does not, however, alter the ban on female succession, which has been in place since the 1889 Imperial House Law and was carried over into the 1947 statute.

It's very ironic that the first female prime minister herself is the leading proponent of the obsession with male-succession.

The succession crisis

Emperor Naruhito, 66, has only three eligible heirs: his younger brother Crown Prince Akishino, 60; Akishino's son Prince Hisahito, 19; and the emperor's 90-year-old uncle, Prince Masahito of Hitachi. Hisahito is the first male baby born into the family in four decades. The imperial household now numbers 16 members, 11 of them women. Naruhito's 24-year-old daughter, Princess Aiko, is widely popular but cannot succeed because of her gender. If Hisahito, who is unmarried and studying biology, has no son, the paternal bloodline would end under the current rules.

Utterly outrageous.

Public opinion and backlash

The revision has drawn sharp criticism. A Mainichi Shimbun poll last month found only 23% support for allowing sons of re-adopted relatives to become emperor, with 34% opposed. By contrast, more than 70% backed a woman emperor and 40% a matrilineal one. An Asahi Shimbun poll in May showed 72% in favour of changing the rules to permit female succession. Opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party, objected to the lack of consensus. Asahiro Kuni, 81, a member of one of the 11 former branches, told the Asahi Shimbun he would advise his grandchildren to refuse adoption, saying, "By the age of 15, a person has grown up breathing the air of freedom."

What comes next

The law now completes its final legal procedures before taking effect. The government will begin identifying suitable male candidates from the former noble families. Meanwhile, the exclusion of women from the throne remains the most contentious unresolved issue. Sven Saaler of Sophia University noted that the revision shows gender equality is not among Prime Minister Takaichi's priorities. Naotaka Kimizuka of Komazawa University said the insistence on a male successor has forced the state to seek "very distant relatives," driven by traditionalist circles.