A popular Japanese cartoonist who has written books on history and the monarchy has taken the government to court over a revised imperial succession law allowing royals to adopt male relatives from ancient branches of families to father future heirs. The revised law took effect Saturday despite criticism of male-only inheritance rules in Japan’s 1,500-year-old monarchy, the AP reports. After Emperor Naruhito, there is his younger brother Akishino, followed by his 20-year-old nephew, Prince Hisahito. There are no other eligible heirs in his generation. The revised law allows the adoption of single male descendants, aged 15 or older, of distant imperial relatives, but only through an unbroken male line, into a branch of the royal family.
Four of the 11 former branch families who renounced their royal status in 1947 remain. Authorities say there are at least 36 generations removed from Naruhito after splitting from a common male ancestor 600 years ago. Critics say they are too distant to be considered relatives. In his lawsuit, Yoshinori Kobayashi claims that adopting former royals, who are commoners, discriminates against other commoners, in violation of Article 14 of the constitution, which guarantees equality regardless of “race, creed, sex, social status or family origin.” “Adoption would introduce a new class system of ‘former imperial family branch’ in Japan. … This is a serious problem,” Kobayashi said after filing a complaint with the Tokyo District Court. No trial date has been set.
The law allows princesses to retain their royal status and continue to perform their official duties after marrying commoners, but does not confer royal status on their husbands and children. This effectively eliminates any chance of Japan’s beloved Princess Aiko succeeding her father, Naruhito. Kobayashi calls it the “Aiko-sama Exclusion Law.” The male-only succession policy was pushed by the conservative government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who declared that only the paternal lineage confers authority and legitimacy to the emperor. Kobayashi is seeking damages of one million yen ($6,350) for psychological suffering, Nippon reports.
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