‘Emperor Aiko’ blocked by Komuro
At the eighth meeting of the government's
expert panel held recently, it was decided to consider the issue of the
dwindling number of successors to the throne, focusing on two proposals: the
creation of a female monarchy and the return of former members of the Imperial
Family to the Imperial Register. This means that the realization of
"Emperor Aiko," which is desired by most of the Japanese people, has
become a distant prospect.
Kei Komuro as a Barrier to "Emperor
Aiko"?
One of the women's weekly magazines,
"Josei Seven," carried this headline.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/60baabb01925260646a1cc3eae50441f9408b3f6?page=1
According to the report, the presence of
Kei Komuro, the unofficial fiancee of Mako, the eldest daughter of the Akishino
family, is causing the debate to stagnate.
There is no doubt that the majority of the
Japanese people want to see a "female emperor," and more
specifically, the accession to the throne of Princess Aiko, the daughter of
Emperor Akihito. In addition, Prime Minister Kan and the Prime Minister's
Office had positioned the "female Imperial Family" as a trump card to
overcome the slump in support.
However, the issue of Mako and Komuro's
marriage became complicated, and the release of the 28-page "Komuro
Documents" in April of this year caused strong public opposition to both
Komuro and Mako.
“If a female monarchy is established before
she marries, Princess Mako may become the head of the new monarchy. If she then
marries Mr. Komuro, there is a possibility that he will join the IF and become
"His Imperial Highness Prince Kei. Under such circumstances, can we really
proceed with the discussion? As long as the issue of Mako's marriage is not put
to rest, I don't think the discussion can proceed in earnest.” A imperial
journalist said.
Shuji Yagi, a conservative professor at
Reitaku University, told the Daily Shincho, "The troubles surrounding the
marriage of Princess Mako and Mr. Komuro have brought to light the problems
with the female line of succession. The general public must feel that it is
undesirable for a person like Mr. Komuro to be involved in the IF. They feel
that if this issue is prolonged, respect for the IF could be greatly
undermined. The appearance of Mr. Komuro has given the public a concrete image
of the succession to the female line, and I think this has had more than a
little influence on the debate about the succession to the throne.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/facba13cf81bb45f8d67c90d0e4c853f2a29c30d
Mr. Yagi likens Komuro, the man who hauled
Mako around, to Dokyo, a monstrous monk in the Nara period. Dōkyō was favored
by the female emperor Kōken and Shōtoku (the same person ascended to the throne
twice) and tried to become emperor himself. This attempt was thwarted, but
perhaps this was a traumatic experience for the IF, and after Emperor Shotoku,
no female emperor was born for about 850 years until Emperor Meisei ascended
the throne in the Edo period.
If Mako were to become the head of the
female imperial monarchy, Komuro would be her spouse and become a member of the
imperial family, giving birth to "His Imperial Highness Prince Kei. There
is a strong sentiment among the people that "HIH Prince Kei? No Way!".
In the unlikely event that a child born between the two of them would have the
right to succeed to the throne, Kei could become the "father of the
emperor.
For this reason, the members who
participated in the hearing of the expert panel said, "As long as the
issue of Ms. Komuro remains unresolved, we cannot expect a calm discussion on
the imperial family system. It will be difficult to gain public understanding
if Ms. Komuro's presence continues to haunt us. The expert panel has already
confirmed that the current order of succession to the imperial throne is
limited to male lineage, and has decided not to expand the qualifications for
succession to women or female lineage.
On the other hand, some have likened Komuro
to Meghan in the British royal family, and have suggested that a female version
of Komuro, a "Japanese Meghan," may be on the horizon.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/fbd779867fc7f37f4733b6529c54a0abf49d1c09?page=1
Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, will become an adult member of the IF in December of this year. This was the perfect time to discuss a "female emperor," but it turned out to be blocked by Komuro.
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