Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Says Constitution Includes Both Male and Female Lineages

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Mentions the Provisions of Succession to the Throne in the Constitution.


Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, at a meeting of the House of Representatives Cabinet Committee on April 2, expressed his view that the Constitution allows for an emperor whose mother is of the emperor's lineage to succeed to the throne in a stable manner.


 At the same time, he explained that the Imperial Household Law limits the succession to the throne to male lineage. He stressed again that it is necessary to "carefully and carefully examine the issue, taking into account the weight of the fact that the male line of succession has been maintained without exception since ancient times. 
[...]  
With regard to the return of the former Imperial Family to the Imperial Register, he reiterated his intention not to confirm the intentions of the male descendants. 

 Since March of this year, the Japanese government's advisory panel has been discussing a stable succession to the throne. In the hearings with experts, there were many positive opinions about not only a female emperor but also an emperor of female lineage. 
 It will be interesting to see whether Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato's comments will lead to a revision of the Imperial Household Law, which stipulates that only men of male lineal descendants will succeed to the throne.

What was Mr. Kato's statement?

Full text of Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato's statement

Gemba: Article 2 of the Constitution states that "the throne is hereditary," but I would like to ask the government's official position on whether or not this hereditary title refers to the male line.

 Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato: As I have explained in my previous answers to the Diet, Article 2 of the Constitution (see note #1) states that the throne is hereditary, and all matters relating to the succession to the throne are left to the Imperial Household Law, which is a law. In addition, the phrase "the throne shall be hereditary" in the same article is interpreted to mean that only those who are connected to the Emperor's lineage shall succeed to the throne, and both male and female lineages are included in this Constitution.

Based on such a premise, the Imperial Household Law states that a male line shall succeed to the throne (see note #2), and the government's consistent stance is that it will carefully and carefully examine the issue of succession to the throne, taking into consideration the weight of the fact that male line succession has been maintained since ancient times without exception.


Note:

#1 Constitution of Japan, Article 2. The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial House Law passed by the Diet.

#2) The Imperial House Law Article 1. The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by a male offspring in the male line belonging to the Imperial Lineage. 

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