Brother of IF Member to Chair LDP's Discussions on Succession to the Throne
Mr. Taro Aso
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party(LDP)
Secretary-General Toshimitsu Mogi announced at a meeting of the party's General
Affairs Council on January 18 that the party will establish a forum to discuss
measures for the succession to the throne, following Prime Minister Fumio
Kishida's report to the Diet on the results of an expert panel's study on a
stable succession to the throne. It will be chaired by LDP's Vice President Taro Aso,
with Mr. Mogi acting as chairman. Mr. Tatsuo Fukuda, Chairman of the Board of
Governors, made the announcement at a press conference after the meeting.
Mr. Aso is the elder brother of Nobuko, the
wife of the late Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of former Emperor Akihito.
Nobuko is known for her support of female emperors, as evidenced by the fact
that she composed a poem about Her Imperial Highness Princess Toshinomiya Aiko
at the last poetry festival. Mr. Aso himself is also said to be flexible in his
stance on women and female line emperors.
At a press conference, Mr. Fukuda said,
"It is important to discuss the succession to the throne in an environment
of tranquility.
Following the government's submission of
the report compiled by the expert panel to the Diet last week, the presidents
of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, who received the
report, jointly requested their respective parties to consider the issue on January
12.
However, with the House of Councillors
elections coming up, some are cautious about quickly putting together the
party's ideas, and it is expected to take some time to reach a conclusion.
The conservative wing of the party, led by
former Prime Minister Abe, strongly advocates the succession of the throne by a
male line, but in recent years several politicians have come out with flexible
statements, such as "we will accept a female or female emperor if there is
no other choice. The power balance within the party is expected to have a major
impact on this issue in the future.
On the other hand, the opposition
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, which is calling for drastic measures
to ensure a stable succession and the creation of a "female imperial
family," including the acceptance of a female or female line of emperors,
held the first meeting of its study committee in the Diet on January 14. It
also pointed out that "granting privileged status to male members of the
former imperial family constitutes discrimination based on family lineage,
which is prohibited by the Constitution.”
Comments
Post a Comment