Former Imperial Family Reunion to be Held Within a Few Years? Return of Male Lineage to Imperial Register and Prince Aiko in Spotlight
With regard to a stable succession to the throne, attention has been focused on the return to the Imperial Register of the former members of the Imperial Family who were deposed in 1947 after World War II.
It is likely that they will have an opportunity to meet each other within the next few
years.
At a meeting of the Budget Committee of the
House of Representatives on February 7, the government revealed that the Kikuei
Fellowship, which consists of relatives of the Imperial Family, meets about
once every five years. The most recent meeting was held on May 18, 2014, at the
Higashi Residence in Akasaka Imperial Villa. He answered a question from
Fumitake Fujita, Secretary General of the Japan Restoration Association.
The Kikuei Fellowship is a voluntary
organization run by members of the IF and the 11 former IF members who left the Imperial Resister in October 1947, and the last time
it was held was to celebrate the 80th birthday of the Emperor.
Mr. Fujita also asked about the Imperial
Household Agency's support for the operation of the fellowship, and Kenji
Ikeda, deputy director general of the agency, explained, "IHA takes care
of the IF in their public and private lives, and from that
standpoint, we are assisting the Kikuei Fellowship, of which the IF is a member.” He refrained from mentioning any specific support
measures.
Since the end of last year, there have been
a series of reports that there are male members of the former IF in their twenties, and that several of them are willing to return to the
imperial resister in some cases.
In particular, the January 27 edition of
Shukan Shincho reported that two sons of the Kaya family, among the former
members of the IF, have emerged as candidates for the bridegroom
of Her Imperial Highness Toshinomiya Aiko, the daughter of the current Emperor and Empress.
Regarding the stable succession to the
throne, the government held an advisory panel last year, and the panel concluded
that
(1) Retention of the imperial register
after the marriage of the uchikohu
(2) The return of male members of the
former Imperial Family to the Imperial Family through adoption.
These two proposals are currently being
discussed in the Diet as the government's draft.
The LDP heavyweights have repeatedly stated that they would like to discuss the issue in as tranquil an environment as possible.
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