is a statute in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

law that governs the line of imperial succession, the membership of the imperial family, and several other matters pertaining to the administration of the Imperial Household. In 2017, the

National Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...

changed the law to enable the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

to abdicate within three years. With this change, Emperor

Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bo ...

abdicated Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

on 30 April 2019.

Passage of the law

The Imperial Household Law was passed during the Shōwa era on January 16, 1947, by the last session of the Imperial Diet. This law superseded the Imperial Household Law of 1889, which had enjoyed co-equal status with the

Constitution of the Empire of Japan The Constitution of the Empire of Japan ( Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in ...

and could only be amended by the

. The revised statute is subordinate to the

Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan (Shinjitai: , Kyūjitai: , Hepburn: ) is the constitution of Japan and the supreme law in the state. Written primarily by American civilian officials working under the Allied occupation of Japan, the constitution r ...

, which went into effect on May 3, 1947. It develops Chapter 1: Article 2 of the Constitution of Japan, which states: "The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial House Law passed by the Diet".

Draft and intent

The law was drafted by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

Shigeru Yoshida (22 September 1878 – 20 October 1967) was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1954. Yoshida was one of the longest-serving Japanese prime ministers, and is the third-long ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

during the American occupation by the

Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) to the Japanese government, aiming to suppress its "milit ...

, the 1947 statute sought to bring the legislation governing the Imperial Household into compliance with the American-written Constitution. The law had the effect of dramatically restricting membership in the Imperial Family to the Emperor

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

's immediate family, his widowed mother, and the families of his three brothers. It abolished the collateral lines of the Imperial Family, the

shinnōke was the collective name for the four cadet branches of the Imperial family of Japan, which were until 1947 entitled to provide a successor to the Chrysanthemum throne if the main line failed to produce an heir. The heads of these royal houses h ...

and the

ōke The , also known as the ''Old Imperial Family'' (旧皇族), were branches of the Japanese Imperial Family created from branches of the Fushimi-no-miya house, the last surviving Shinnōke cadet branch. All but one of these ''ōke'' (王家) were ...

, which had traditionally been a pool of potential successors to the throne if the main imperial family failed to produce an heir. The fifty-one members of the eleven cadet branches renounced their Imperial status; and they were formally removed from the Imperial household register and became ordinary citizens on October 14, 1947. The new law retained the principle of

agnatic succession Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

enshrined in the 1889 law and Prussian-influenced constitution during the 19th century

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. The new law further restricted the succession to legitimate-born sons, grandsons, and male line descendants of an Emperor. Previously, an Emperor's sons and grandsons born by concubines and their male line descendants could succeed to the throne. Although Imperial chronologies include eight reigning empresses in the course of Japanese history, their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century.

Empress Genmei , also known as Empress Genmyō, was the 43rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 元明天皇 (43) retrieved August 22, 2013. according to the traditional order of succession. Genmei's reign spanned the years 707 throug ...

(661–721), who was followed on the throne by her daughter,

Empress Genshō was the 44th monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 元正天皇 (44)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Her reign spanned the years 715 through 724. Genshō was the fifth of eight women to take on th ...

(680–748), remains the sole exception to this conventional argument. In addition, the law contained numerous mechanisms to regulate the future size of the Imperial Family, and thus the financial burden on the state. The chapters of the Imperial Household Law addresses the following: # The order of succession to the throne # The establishment of a

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

should the Emperor be a minor or suffer from a serious ailment # The membership of the Imperial Family # The composition of the

Imperial Household Council The is a ten-member body to approve the statutory matters on the Imperial House of Japan. The Council was established in 1947, when the current Imperial Household Law took effect. Functions The Imperial Household Law provides that the Council ...

# The titles and styles held by the Emperor and members of the imperial family # The marriages of the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the princes of the blood; and, # The rites for Imperial funerals, Imperial mausoleum, and the maintenance of the Imperial Family registry. Chapter 1: Article 1 of the Imperial Household Law states: "The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by a male offspring in the male line belonging to the Imperial Lineage".The Imperial House Law of 1947
/ref> The line of succession is detailed in Article 2 as: # The eldest son of the Emperor # The eldest son of the Emperor's eldest son # Other descendants of the eldest son of the Emperor # The second son of the Emperor and his descendants # Other descendants of the Emperor # Brothers of the Emperor and their descendants # Uncles of the Emperor and their descendants Matters relating to

and membership of the

Imperial Family A royal family is the immediate family of King, kings/Queen regnant, queens, Emir, emirs/emiras, Sultan, sultans/Sultana (title), sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the ...

are managed by the

as stated under this law.

References

{{reflist

External links

The Constitution of Japan

Japanese Editorial Excerpts
- ''Japan Policy & Politics'', 29 December 2004 Cold War treaties Japanese monarchy Japanese legislation 1947 in law 1947 in Japan

Passage of the law

Draft and intent

See also

References

External links