Bill for authorizing female monarchs to be presented in March
The Japanese government will present an amendment to the Imperial House Law to the Diet in early March that would authorize females and their descendants to ascend the throne, according to informed sources.
The revision comes after a Nov. 24 proposal by an advisory panel and would cause a reshuffle of the line of succession.
Crown Prince Naruhito, 45, Emperor Akihito's first son, remains the heir to the throne. But the revised law would change the second in line to 4-year-old Princess Aiko, the crown prince's only child, from Prince Akishino, the crown prince's 40-year-old brother, who would be the third in line.
The bill will be presented to a regular Diet session for deliberation after the state budget for fiscal 2006 clears the Diet, the sources said.
It will carry clauses saying the emperor's firstborn child, regardless of sex, should be next in line to the throne -- clauses designed to prevent a succession crisis..............
http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=222314
The X versus Y chromosome
According to a recent survey of Japanese voters, 73% support the idea of female members of the imperial family ascending to the throne. Perhaps influenced by this support, a government panel recommended that the Imperial Household Law of 1947 be revised, which would allow Princess Aiko, now 4, to ascend to the throne.
Eight other females have reigned as empresses in Japan's history but they did not produce any heirs, so their role was strictly as a caretaker — a temporary solution keeping the throne safely occupied until a male heir with the royal Y chromosome could be enthroned.
This recommendation by the panel should not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed this royal debate. What is a surprise, is the order of succession that the panel is also recommending. They have stated that the firstborn child of the empress, regardless of gender, should follow in succession.
It is interesting to note, that as with everything in life, there are actually laws of succession. This would change Japan's law from "Salic Law," which entirely excludes females from the hereditary succession, to "Cognatic Primogeniture," in which the right of succession passes to the eldest child of the sovereign, regardless of gender. To try and put this into modern perspective, countries such as Italy, Bulgaria and France still adhere to "Salic Law," while only Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden practice "Cognatic Primogeniture."....................
http://www.crisscross.com/jp/comment/882
Old vs. new clash over Japanese women
As Japanese lawmakers prepare to debate later this month on whether or not to allow a woman to succeed the imperial throne, it is clear the issue goes far beyond simply allowing the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife, Masako, to be empress.
In fact, whether or not the Diet approves Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's push for a change in the imperial house law, which dictates only male heirs can ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne, might well have longer-term consequences for how women are regarded in Japan.
But it's not just a legal battle that looms ahead. It is also a change in the mind-set of both men and women in the country that has only changed gradually and often begrudgingly over the past two decades.
Women and men are equal under Japanese law, and gender discrimination is illegal. Nevertheless, it is clear women have not played as prominent a role in Japan's economy or politics as they have elsewhere. For instance, only 11 percent of corporate management positions in the country were held by women in 2004, and while that was an improvement from 2001 when the rate was 8.3 percent, it still falls far short compared to other parts of the world. Meanwhile, fewer than one-third of mothers return to work after having children, with the majority returning to positions that are far lower than ones they previously held........................
http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20060111-043733-5255r
Japanese Bill Paves a Princess' Path to Power
A woman hasn't ascended to the Japanese throne since 1770, but a new bill could allow one to inherit the world's oldest monarchy. The prospect of an empress has riled the country's old guard and divided the imperial family.
In a succession drama that is gripping Japan, 4-year-old Princess Aiko may become the country's first reigning empress since the 18th century, when Empress Go-Sakuramachi reigned from 1762 to 1770 in one of the rare interruptions in the male rule of the world's oldest monarchy.
Eight women have ascended Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne during its 2,000-year history. Japan had several female monarchs between the sixth and 18th centuries, but in each case succession subsequently reverted to the male line because the female rulers remained childless and the reign reverted to an unbroken line of males. The preference for male rulers was enshrined in a 1947 law that forbids women to ascend the throne and reserves it for men who have emperors on their father's side.
The discussion about the monarchy holds a special place in political debates in Japan. Since the Meiji Restoration of 1868, supporters as well as opponents to the throne have used it to define their respective positions and that of the nation. After Japan's defeat in 1945, the American occupation authorities compelled Japan to re-examine the relationship between the monarchy and the nation by imposing a constitution that stripped the emperor of his power and repositioned the institution as a symbol of national unity. But the monarchy in Japan remains significant as a political and cultural institution........................
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2598/context/archive
