Japan mulls maintaining current order of imperial succession

But Hisashi Matsumoto, a professor of Shinto studies at Kokugakuin University, objected to the idea, saying, "We should refrain from lightly changing rules that are based on historical circumstances," and called matrilineal inheritance "unthinkable."

Well said Hisashi, we all know women talk too much in meetings, just think what would happen to the all day ceremonies associated with the Royals. Egads a woman emperor!

There seems to be an impression of Japanese society as being largely patriarchal. Not for me to judge, but I can sit back and be amused.

Is anyone surprised? After all, the oyajis in the government and as leaders of these "meetings" cannot decide otherwise. The ship is s(shr)inking, the band is playing merrily on. As if the Emperor had any power here at all. A woman in the emperor's place would have made no difference to these oyajis or to their lives. Or the lives of ordinary citizens. But they see it as an attack on their way of life, because this is how they lived twenty, thirty, fifty, seventy years ago.

Yeah, woman as an Emperor! Horrible! If we allow a woman as an Emperor, what comes next? Women will be allowed to drive cars? Not follow their husband two metres behind? Or even right to vote?!?

Man, I wish they realised it is not 1900s anymore.

There’s good reason why Japan ranks dead last in developed nations for gender equality, and near dead last even when undeveloped nations are thrown in, and why they’ll never improve — and this is proof. Kicking the can down the road for the next old man to kick down the road is not change.

In a democracy why not ask the people? Not a group of purported “experts”

As has been pointed out above, there have been empresses before and the founder of the line was a female goddess, so the experts are actually going against long standing tradition.

Remember a father thinks he knows who his children are, only a mother is certain! (At least until the invention of DNA sequencing anyway!).

No change, no responsibility.

I’m shocked they’d come up with that decision.

The Japanese government's advisory panel on the issue, chaired by former Keio University President Atsushi Seike, heard from a total of 21 experts from various fields in six meetings from March 23 through Monday, but few were of the opinion that the current order should be changed immediately.

Translation

"If we make this decision too quickly, the all expenses gravey train we have been milking since March will dry up. Let's have another meeting .. . . ."

I second Desiree, open up the line of succession to women, especially if the royal family's numbers are declining and the possible successors are becoming slim. This made me wonder if there were any records of female empresses, or in the very least, some of high position during the imperial times. Would the Japanese rather have their royal family die out because they refuse to allow a female to succeed the throne?

Japan considering the status quo??? I can't believe it!

You do know all those meetings have to be held, don’t you? ;)

Is there a word in the Japanese language for "mulling"? I assume there must be one since this is such a favorite pastime here.

Waiting for the 36th meeting and learning what a talento thinks aboug it...

Just get kids, you know the old fashioned way.

If you care about maintaing the imperial family it seems obvious to me you have to open up for maternal linage, in the same way that if you care about the Japanese people not dying out, you have to make it easier for Japanese women to have children. It's about self preservation at this point, really.

But even when I try to think of it from the opposite viewpoint I still don't really get it.

I'm assuming purity is the thing, you want your emperor's to be as directly descended from the original as possible right (which,/ by the way, wasn't that a woman such as in the goddess Amaterasu?) Then why would you water down the blood again and again by diverting from the direct descenting linage by going through other relatives rather than having a female empress one in a while and thus keep the line pure?

I mean it wouldn't be the first time, Japan has had female rulers in the past so...?

Leave the matter to the royal family with respect, and let them decide. Expert consultation is allowed while I don't think that the state should intervene into such "private" domains even though the family is said to represent Japanese tradition.

Instead, the government should review or account for the scale of public duties looked after by Emperor couple and other members. That has something to do with the spending of public money, our tax money.

Maintaining the current succession rule will lead to scale down drastically the family size as well as capacity as its majority women will leave the house when getting married (with a commoner). Or is that what the government intends to do? I personally support female Emperors or primogeniture rule which can give more stability in succession.

People sometimes forget that the Tokyo imperial palace is the most expensive real estate in the whole world. Whoever owns it is king.

"Mulling" is a delicate practice Japanese deciders have perfected over millennia.

Once again, too much bad news in the media, so let's bring up this "culture war" topic to distract the masses.

Rinse and Repeat!

So after 21 experts MULLED over the situation in a series of meetings, the conclusion of these experts is.....no change. Well that solves that conundrum I guess.

Japan mulls maintaining current order of imperial succession

We are used to words like this being used in conjunction with Japan.