Japan Prime Minister’s cabinet approves bill allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate throne News
Japan Prime Minister’s cabinet approves bill allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate throne

The cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [official site] approved a special bill [Japan Times report] on Friday allowing the reigning Emperor Akihito [BBC profile] to abdicate his throne. This development comes after the 83-year-old emperor hinted at the negative impact the grueling schedule had on his health during a televised remark last year. The current laws preclude the emperor from retiring, thereby preventing a new heir to the throne from assuming the role until after the current emperor dies. The proposed bill not only allows the emperor to retire voluntarily but also names his successor as Crown Prince Hironomiya Naruhito [Britannica profile]. Notably, this is a one-time abdication provision specifically designed only for Akihito, so as to prevent other monarchs from following suit by taking voluntary retirements. The new bill, to be considered by the Japan Parliament shortly, has created some controversy particularly since it makes no mention of potential female heirs to the throne in the future, despite strong public support for women [NYT report] ascending to the throne. That part of the bill remains unchanged, which would mean that women of royalty who marry would continue to be forced to leave the imperial household. With the passage of this bill, Akihito would become the first emperor since Emperor Kokaku in 1817 to abdicate his throne.

This is not the first time that the subject of female accession to the throne in Japan has been raised. More than ten years ago in November 2005, a government panel concluded [JURIST report] that Japan’s succession law should be changed to allow the first-born child, irrespective of gender, the right to ascend to the throne. But late Prince Tomohito, Akihito’s cousin, disapproved of changing Japan’s “unique tradition and history so easily.” The following month the Japanese government set to prepare a legislative proposal [JURIST report] that would have amended the country’s the 1947 succession law, the Imperial Household Law [text; The Imperial Household Agency translation from Japanese], to allow female monarchs. In January 2006 then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi [Britannica profile] expressed his support [JURIST report] by promising to introduce the reform legislation. However, the following month over 1,000 protesters, primarily on the conservative side, gathered in Tokyo to rally against the proposed legislation [JURIST report]. The entire episode came to an abrupt halt ten days later, despite public support for the change, when Koizumi decided against submitting the bill [JURIST report] to parliament in the face of strong opposition from conservative members of his own party and partly in response to the news of Princess Kiko Kawashima’s pregnancy becoming public [JURIST report].