Shingo Haketa, Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency, reportedly called on Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on October 5, urging the government to allow female members of the imperial family who marry outside the family to create new family branches while retaining their royal status following marriage (Yomiuri Shimbun, November 25). Haketa allegedly called his request “an urgent matter.”
　　　Emperor Akihito, hospitalized with a high fever on November 6, was released on November 26, having recovered satisfactorily from mild bronchial pneumonia. With the 78-year-old emperor ill once again, most Japanese felt a deepened sense of crisis concerning the future of the imperial family.
　　　This sense of crisis is traceable first and foremost to the small number of members of the imperial family, now standing at only 23 including the Emperor himself. Under the current Imperial Household Law, every female member, including Princess Mako, the oldest daughter of Prince and Princess Akishino who has just turned 20, renounces her royal status when marrying outside the family. By the time Prince Hisahito, the five-year-old son of the Akishinos, attains adulthood, it is quite possible that he will be the only imperial family member left.
　　　However, the small number of imperial family members does not automatically imply any immediate instability of the imperial succession. Let there be no confusion here. Because the imperial throne after Emperor Akihito will be succeeded to by Prince Naruhito, Prince Akishino, and Prince Hisahito, in this order, the situation surrounding the imperial succession will remain quite solid and stable for the next few decades. Prior to the birth of Prince Hisahito in September 2006, however, the imperial succession had remained a matter of grave national concern because who would succeed to the throne after Naruhito and Akishino was uncertain. It can safely be said that, thanks to the birth of Prince Hisahito in September 2006, there will actually be no concern about the succession for at least the next two generations, hopefully spanning more than a half century.
　　　That said, one must still consider what will happen to the future of the imperial family if the number of family members continues to decrease as it has in the recent past. People in Japan generally feel that effective measures should be worked out to help lessen the burden shouldered by the imperial couple;they are keenly aware that, in spite of their advanced age, the Emperor and Empress always make their utmost effort to face the people compassionately, pray for their peace, and concern themselves with numerous affairs of state. One logical and realistic solution would be to assign some of their less religious official duties to other members of the imperial family.
　　　Allow me to reiterate that, if the present status quo pertaining to the affairs of the imperial family remains unchanged, Prince Hisahito may at some point be the only remaining member of the imperial family. During the occupation, the American authorities relegated the Shinto rituals -€ traditionally performed by the emperor as the principal role of the imperial family -€ to the status of private worship. Eventually, there is bound to be a very lonely time for Prince Hisahito, with the government failing to fully come to grips with the real reason for the existence of the imperial family and he himself having to shoulder all of the official imperial duties now being shared with other members of the imperial family, although the imperial couple clearly carries the heaviest load. The foundation of the imperial family will be extremely fragile then.

Even Former Premier Koizumi Failed to Understand
　　　For the first time since the legendary Emperor Jimmu was on the throne 2,671 years ago, an emperor will be put in the position of preserving the history and traditions of the imperial family by himself. (According to oral tradition, Emperor Jimmu established the first imperial throne in Japan, reigning from 660 to 585 B.C. and setting up the seat of government in Yamato-Kashihara, in the northwest of Nara Prefecture.)
　　　In order to rectify the current situation and strengthen the foundation of the imperial family -€ which represents the very essence of Japan’s history and culture -€ there is no one who would deny the need to increase the number of imperial family members surrounding the Emperor.
　　　TheYomiuri Shimbun reported on Mr. Haketa’s remarks obviously as a concrete proposal by Grand Steward Haketa in this vein -€ creation of new branches of the imperial family by allowing female members to retain their royal status after marrying outside the family. If what the daily reported is true, however, the nature of the alleged proposal is utterly impertinent.
　　　It rightly is within the realm of the Grand Steward’s professional responsibility, as he faced the emperor’s illness and was gripped by an acute sense of crisis about the future of the imperial family, to appeal for concrete steps to safeguard the peace and security of the family. After all, he is the head of the government agency committed to protecting the imperial family under all circumstances. However, if he dared take a step further to specifically request that female imperial family branches be created anew under a pretext of resolving the “crisis,” then his action cannot help being construed as intended to clear the way for a matrilineal emperor, as will be explained later.
　　　In the first place, does the head of the agency have the legal authority to appeal to the cabinet as regards the type of proposal in question? Of course, not. I believe the Grand Steward’s appeal clearly exceeded the prerogatives of his office -€ an act of absolute insolence.
　　　This reminds me of the “expert” advisory committee set up in 2004 under the administration of the then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi. It was meant to discuss a revision of the Imperial Household Law. Dr. Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, a robotics expert, chaired the committee. Nine months later, in November 2005, this committee, chaired by a scholar whose expertise was totally unrelated to Japanese history, especially the imperial palace, submitted its report to the cabinet. The report was compiled chiefly by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Teijiro Furukawa, who catered to the views of Yasuo Fukuda, who was Chief Cabinet Secretary under Koizumi. The report constituted a proposal for clearing the way for a matrilineal emperor, advocating a fundamental change in the centuries-old tradition of the Japanese imperial family.
　　　This episode shows how lightly the vital matters involving the imperial family were treated by the government of the liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at the time. This was symbolized by the fact that even Prime Minister Koizumi attempted to forge ahead with a conclusion on the future of the imperial family without bothering to come to grips with the crucial point of the argument -€ the difference between a “female” emperor and a “matrilineal” emperor.
　　　An emperor, whether male or female, who is a male-line descendant of the chrysanthemum throne is an “agnatic” emperor, and an emperor who is strictly a female-line descendant a “matrilineal” emperor. The Japanese have rigidly protected the system of agnatic emperors for over 2,600 years. Sometimes, when a proper successor to the throne was not found, our predecessors took great pains in searching for proper male-line successors to the throne, having managed to safeguard the imperial family -€ the essence of the Japanese race -€ in its traditional form since mythological times. I consider it the responsibility of us living in the era of Heisei to cherish the thoughts of our forbearers, doing our utmost to preserve the traditional values that have been handed down since time immemorial. What Koizumi said back then had me doubt my ears as it laid bare a stunning lack of awareness on the part of the political leader of Japan about the significance of agnatic succession to the chrysanthemum throne. Answering this question during Diet deliberations, the popular prime minister quipped:
　　　“When Princess Aiko (i.e., daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako, born in December 2001) becomes empress and gives birth to a son, he will eventually be the agnatic successor to the throne. What’s wrong with that?”
　　　Sadly, Mr. Koizumi had no idea what he was talking about.

Wisdom of the Yamato Race
　　　Should Princess Aiko ascend, she will be regarded as an agnatic empress -€ true to the tradition -€ even though she is female, because she is a male-line descendant of the throne. However, her children, even boys, will all be matrilineal successors because they are female-line descendants. Actually, the true intention of Grand Steward Haketa appears to lie here;he wants to see female royal families created disregarding the need for male-line descendants. I also suspect there still are any number of Japanese parliamentarians today who cannot tell the difference between an agnatic emperor and a matrilineal emperor.
　　　I remember quite vividly what Prince Tomohiko of the House of Mikasa, a first cousin of Emperor Akihito, remarked in this connection in 2006. He said:
　　　“Speaking about the wisdom of a particular race -€ the Yamato race in this case -€ there have been some ideas floating around involving imperial succession, such as ‘equality between men and women,’ as well as ‘gender-free participation. ’ These, I believe, fall into the category of pertinent democratic rules that the Japanese must honor. And yet, we should not forget that the imperial family first of all is not an entity that fits too snugly within the rules of a democratic system…I suppose the imperial family ought to be considered an exception of sorts, deliberately removed from the rules of the people. I feel this is yet another example of the wisdom of the Yamato race.” (The Imperial Family and the Japanese:Will You Speak Out, Your Highness Prince Tomohito? By Eimei Kase, Keiichiro Kobori, Yoshiko Sakurai et all;Meisei-sha, Tokyo, 2006)
　　　I am all for increasing the number of imperial family members as a means of helping lessen the burden currently shouldered by the imperial couple. However, in order to be true to the long and profound history of Japan, I would like to see the nation come up with creative proposals which do not change the essence of the imperial family. One possible concrete step may be to give former members of the imperial family back their royal status by means of “adoption,” as Prince Tomohito proposed.
　　　It has been quite some time since the houses of Chichibu and Takamatsu (i.e., Emperor Showa’s two younger brothers now deceased) became extinct due to a failure to adopt heirs. How about considering asking former members of the imperial family, who are still in good health, to take over some of the rituals that the Emperor currently performs which previously were conducted by members of the royal families with close ties to the Showa Emperor? I would consider such a proposal worth listening to.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 488 in the December 8, 2011 issue of The Weekly Shinco)