The is a ten-member body to approve the statutory matters on the

Imperial House of Japan The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...

. The Council was established in 1947, when the current

Imperial Household Law is a statute in Japanese 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 changed the law ...

took effect.

Functions

The Imperial Household Law provides that the Council shall be summoned by the

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 ...

to approve of: *

Marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

of any male member of the Imperial Family (Article X) * Forfeiture of the Imperial status of a member of the Imperial Family (Articles XI, XIII and XIV) * Changing of the

order of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.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 ...

(Articles XVI, XVIII and XX) The Imperial Household Council has been convoked eight times hitherto. At each time, the Council meeting was headed by the Prime Minister and gave a unanimous consent and approval to the agenda.

Forfeiture of the Imperial status

Fifty-one members lost their Imperial status in 1947 with an approval of the Council.

Approval of marriage

The Council has discussed and approved of six marriages since its establishment. No princess of the blood needs a marriage approval unless she marries a member of the Imperial House, because she will automatically become a commoner upon marriage and her husband will never be a member of the Imperial House under the rule of

patrilineal 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 ...

succession. Seven princesses have married without the Council's approval since it was established.

Imperial abdication

In the summer of 2016, the aged

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 ...

indicated his desire to retire, leading to special legislation permitting the first abdication in over two centuries. The council met in December 2017 to formalize how and when the event would take place.

Members of the Imperial Household Council

Article XXVIII of the Imperial Household Law provides that the Imperial Household Council shall consist of: * Two members 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 ...

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 ...

* The speaker and vice-speaker of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

* The president and vice-president of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

Grand steward The is the head department of the Imperial Household Agency of Japan. History The origins of the structure of the Imperial Household can be traced back to the reign of Emperor Monmu, with the organisation of the government structure in 701 AD ...

of the

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD, up until the Second World War, it ...

* Chief justice and one other justice of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Article XXX of the Imperial Household Law provides that other ten members shall be appointed as reserve members of the Council: *

Minister of state Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

- in most cases,

chief cabinet secretary The is a member of the cabinet and is the leader and chief executive of the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan. The Chief Cabinet Secretary coordinates the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch, and also serves as the government ...

* Two members of the Imperial Family * Two members of the House of Representatives * Two members of the House of Councillors * An official of the Imperial Household Agency - in most cases, Vice-Grand Steward * Two justices of the Supreme Court

Incumbent members of the Council in order of precedence

* Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino *

Hanako, Princess Hitachi (born ; 19 July 1940), is a member of the Japanese Imperial Family as the wife of Masahito, Prince Hitachi, who is the younger son of Emperor Shōwa and the only brother of Emperor Emeritus Akihito. Early life and education She was born at Tsu ...

Tadamori Oshima Tadamori is a Japanese surname and masculine given name. Kanji Kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system durin ...

, Speaker of the House of Representatives *

Hirotaka Akamatsu is a Japanese politician from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and served as the Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan from 2017 to 2021. Life and career A native of Nagoya and graduate of Waseda University, he w ...

Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives *

Akiko Santō is a Japanese politician who served as the President of the House of Councillors of Japan from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, she previously served as the Vice President of the House of Councillors from 2007 to 2010. ...

, President of the House of Councillors *

Toshio Ogawa is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). Ogawa is a former Minister of Justice. A native of Nerima, Tokyo, and a graduate of Rikkyo University, he ...

, Vice President of the House of Councillors *

Fumio Kishida is a Japanese politician serving as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. A member of the House of Representatives, he previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017 and ...

, Prime Minister * Shinichirō Yamamoto, Grand Steward *

Naoto Ōtani is a Japanese jurist and lawyer who served as the 19th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan from 2018 to 2022. Early life and education Ōtani was born in Akabira, Hokkaido, Japan. He graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of L ...

, Chief Justice of Japan * Ryuko Sakurai, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan The reserve members are as follows: *

Yuriko, Princess Mikasa (born ; 4 June 1923), is a member of the Imperial House of Japan as the widow of Takahito, Prince Mikasa, the fourth son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei. The Princess is the last surviving paternal great-aunt-in-law of Emperor Naruhito, an ...

Kiko, Princess Akishino , born ; 11 September 1966), is the wife of Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino. The Crown Prince is the younger brother and heir presumptive of Emperor Naruhito of Japan and the second son of Akihito, Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Michiko, ...

Bunmei Ibuki
- "Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology", retrieved 24 September 2007. is ...

Takahiro Yokomichi is a Japanese politician who belongs to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and was a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Sapporo, Hokkaidō and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he was ele ...

Seiko Hashimoto is a Japanese politician, former speed skater and track cyclist. She has the most Olympic appearances of any Japanese athlete except Noriaki Kasai, representing her native country in four consecutive Winter Olympics from 1984 to 1994 and in ...

, member of the House of Councillors * Yoshio Hachiro *

Tarō Asō is a Japanese politician serving as the Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. Asō previously served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009 and as Deputy Prime Minister of Japan and Minister of Finance from 2 ...

, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance * Yasuhiko Nishimura *

Kiyoko Okabe is a Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan. She was born on March 20, 1949. She attended Keio University (1971) and completed the master’s program at the university’s law school (1974). In 1974, she was admitted as a legal apprentice, and wou ...

* Takehiko Ōtani

Kōzoku Giin (Imperial Representative)

, literally ''Imperial Representative'', refers to the Imperial Family members elected as members of the Imperial Household Council by mutual election among the adult members of the Imperial Family excluding 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), ...

. They vote to elect two reserve members from the imperial family in the same way. Princess Yori ceased to be a reserve member of the Council because she married on 10 October 1952 and thus became a commoner. Princess Takamatsu became a reserve member in replacement for her.

Recent elections

On 3 September 2003, Prince Mikasa was reelected to his fifteenth consecutive

term of office A term of office, electoral term, or parliamentary term is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a defined limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject ...

since the Council's establishment. Crown Prince Naruhito was voted out. It was for the first time since 1963 that the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

was not elected as a member or reserve member of the Council. On 5 September 2007,

Empress Michiko is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who served as the Empress of Japan, Empress consort of Japan as the wife of Akihito, the 125th Emperor of Japan reigning from 7 January 1989 to 30 April 2019. Michiko married Crown Prince Akihito an ...

, six

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

s and nine

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

es voted to elect Prince and Princess Hitachi as members of the Council, and Princess Mikasa and Prince Akishino as reserve members. Prince Mikasa was reported to have excused himself for his old age in advance. Crown Prince Naruhito was not elected again while his brother, Prince Akishino was voted in for the first time. The next election was in September 2011. On 7 September 2011, the regular election was held by the 18 adult members of the imperial family. This time the elections were not held at the Imperial Palace, but in an Agency conference room to reduce energy consumption. Both the members and reserve members were re-elected.Imperial Diary

References

【明解要解】「皇室会議」とは？新議員に常陸宮ご夫妻

Sankei Shimbun The (short for ) is a daily newspaper in Japan published by the It has the seventh-highest circulation for regional newspapers in Japan. Among Japanese newspapers, the circulation is second only to ''Yomiuri Shimbun'', Seikyo Shimbun, ''Asah ...

* ''Zusetsu - Koshitsu no Subete'',

Gakken is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales is reported at ¥ 90 billion ($789 million US). Gakken publishes educational books and magazines and produces other ...

, 2005, {{ISBN, 4-05-604165-2

External links

Kunaicho , Imperial Household Council
Government agencies established in 1947 Japanese monarchy 1947 establishments in Japan