JAPAN: Coming Birth of Royal Heir Raises Questions on Succession Rules

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Nov 19 2001 (IPS) - The Japanese have waited eight years for news of the birth of a possible heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne, but now that Princess Masako is due to give birth in a few weeks, the milestone is suddenly shrouded in secrecy.

Mainstream Japanese media remain conspicuously low-key in their coverage of Princess Masako’s pregnancy this time, saying only that she is expected to deliver either in late November or early December.

Their recent publication of a photograph of the 37-year-old Masako in maternity dress was a landmark in the muted press coverage so far.

Commentators link the media’s restraint to their bitter experience in 1999, when the frenzied reporting on news of the Princess’s pregnancy ended in silence when Masako had a miscarriage and drew them criticism.

“One reason for the lack of news of the royal pregnancy is media guilt. The media was bitterly criticised at that time, which is probably a major concern right now,” says Hiroko Nakayama, a royal watcher.

But the decision to restrain media from reporting the pregnancy, analysts point out, has unfortunately also muted important national debate on Japan’s royal family, the world’s oldest.

A major issue for the Japanese is the sex of the baby, which has not been revealed to the public, although people know that ultrasonic tests may have ascertained this by now.

Under Japanese Imperial Law, only males can inherit the throne. If the child is a boy, he will be second in line, next only to his father, Crown Prince Naruhito. The throne is now occupied by Emperor Akihito.

No royal males have been born since 1965 and the possibility of a female child has prompted calls in Japan to endorse the role of a female heir or an empress.

“I am sure it’s a boy,” says Chio Saito, editor for ‘Agora’, a feminist magazine. “Otherwise, the government would have been scrambling to change the law to suit the new situation.”

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, a conservative, told the Japanese press last month he is not against the idea of a female sovereign. “Personally, I think a female emperor is fine,” Koizumi told reporters at his official residence.

Women’s groups welcome the new approach, noting that Koizumi’s remark matches a changing attitude toward women in Japan.

“Things have changed in Japan a lot these past few decades. What politicians are discussing is not anything dramatic given the rapidly changing environment for women in Japan,” says Saito.

Rights activists cite several important breakthroughs in Japan, including the right of female children from a common-law marriage to equal inheritance as the males, and the new law designed to prevent domestic violence.

They point out that Japan indeed had a long line of powerful empresses in the past until the Meiji-era in the 19th century developed a new law limiting the throne to male heirs.

Some women activists, however, give little importance to the impending birth of an heir, saying it is not a top priority in their movement.

Masako, despite being a Harvard University graduate and former career diplomat, does in fact elicit some pity, rather than admiration, from women because she cannot be held up as a role model for women’s emancipation, some say.

“I am sure Masako is wonderful person, but I prefer Princess Diana because she was more like us,” opines Keiko Hara, 24, a college student. She says Japan’s royal family is too stuffy and distant from the reality of a changing Japan.

Of the royal family, Hara says: “I guess they are important for Japan’s international relations but I seriously doubt their role in Japan. I wish Masako would have been able to bring some gusto to our imperial family.”

A change in the circumstances of the royal family can be traced to the days after World War II when then Emperor Hirohito — then regarded as “a living god” who led Japan’s aggression in Asia — was almost removed from the scene altogether after the country’s defeat in the war.

But American occupying forces reinstated Hirohito and his family as a “symbol of the state”. That position carved a role for the royal family as protectors of tradition.

Despite some changes, such as royal offspring now being reared by their parents instead of wet nurses as was the custom, royal traditions appear deep-rooted in this country of more than 126 million people.

For instance, Masako follows old rules by walking a few steps behind her husband, Naruhito. News about the Imperial Family continues to be controlled by the powerful Imperial Agency, which organises the public appearances of the members of the royal family.

Analysts say the stiff image is backfiring as more people, especially among Japan’s younger generation, have begun to lose interest in the royal family.

Still, the Imperial Agency hopes that the birth of Princess Masako’s baby will revive the old Royal Family’s popularity, especially against the gloom of the current economic recession in Japan.