Gov't postpones debate on imperial succession as divide surfaces

But Akira Amari, a senior LDP lawmaker, said during a TV program aired Nov 24 that succession by members in the matrilineage "should be tolerated as a last option" after placing members in the patrilineage before them in the order of succession.

About damn time that these LDP fools wake up and see what century we are living in!

Wait, so there's differences of opinion... so we're delaying debate because there's differences of opinion....

so what's the definition of debate again?

Oh, wait, this is the LDP. Debate means "we say, you do, and everything's predetermined beforehand."

Gov't postpones debate on imperial succession as divide surfaces

wait wait wait wait.... the government postpones debate because people were divided? Isn't that the entire purpose of debate? Seems totally controlling to stop debate when the outcome isn't going your way!

*Some opposition parties have proposed tolerating succession by women*

I hope that is just a bad translation. Foul.

wait wait wait wait.... the government postpones debate because people were divided? Isn't that the entire purpose of debate? Seems totally controlling to stop debate when the outcome isn't going your way!

Spot on.

I was going to make just that comment, but you guys beat me to it. Glad to hear I'm not alone in thinking this. It's unbelievable but it really shows how this country is run.

It’s deplorable that even LDP lawmakers don’t understand the importance of keeping up the centuries-old tradition. True, there have been several female emperors but they were all patrilineal emperors and were succeeded by a male emperor without exception.

What boggles my mind is the idea that so many conservatives are so wedded to the idea that imperial succession must only be to males!

Why???

Can anyone give any coherent argument for this??

Well, other than the basic "men are superior to women" Neanderthal thinking!

surrogacy. These really can help if there is problem finding a male heir. Of course, I bet there will be people against using them when they cannot even accept a female heir.

With modern medical science, you have IVF, gender selection and even surrogacy. These really can help if there is problem finding a male heir. Of course, I bet there will be people against using them when they cannot even accept a female heir.

I'll bet that all these "guys" making these decisions about the succession, each and every one of them, take their paycheck home to their wives, and live on an allowance!

Meaning this is the ONLY way they get to show that they are "men"!

True, there have been several female emperors but they were all patrilineal emperors and were succeeded by a male emperor without exception.

An often-repeated error. Empress Genmei was succeeded by Empress Genshou.

Why am I not surprised that Fumihito is announcing himself to be first in line to the throne? (I'm not a fan of this guy...)

I really hope that they change their ways and allow succession by women or by members in the maternal line.

It’s not about talks but about winning. Real, sincere omotenashi.

 so many conservatives are so wedded to the idea that imperial succession must only be to males!

Why???

Can anyone give any coherent argument for this??

Modern clinical psychology suggests that such views serve as typical distal defenses against the terror of one's own death in order to assuage unconscious death anxiety which lies behind much rigid, dogmatic thinking.

The Denial of Death and The Worm at the Core are the two books that convincingly detail these defense mechanisms.

Thus antediluvian conservatives who doggedly insist on patrilineal succession have to be dragged kicking and screaming into a future they fear.

On par with the royal families of the Middle East. They must get intimidated when they meet Queen Elizabeth.

re: Article: while a group within the LDP adamant about sticking to the patrilineal succession has urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe not to break the centuries-old tradition."

Time to vote this outdated methodology cronies out of office. Women have a place and have proven to be great leaders of countries historically.

Would love to see Mako or Kako become Empress. After all Amaterasu was the first in the line of the royal family ;-)

@zones2surf - About the only justification I can think of for the requirement that the nation's ruler be a man comes from ancient and medieval times when the king was expected to lead the troops on the battlefield himself, wielding his own sword and shield.

Japan has embraced pacifism and has "permanently renounced war", right, LDP? There is thus no reason why there should not be a reigning empress. Wake up, LDP fossils.

Open succession up after Akishino takes the throne. He's a badass and would make a cool Emperor.

Not that this is going to sway the knothead wing of the "modern" LDP, but it's an historical fact.

I would love to see a Japanese empress but it isn’t up to expats to tell the Japanese what their cultural heritage should be. I don’t think denigration from a foreigner is at all appropriate.

oh no! An obvious decision! Quick, let's hold meetings, lots and lots of meetings

The reason it was probably postponed because there are too many people in agreement that only male successors is outdated.

They are trying to avoid embarrassment in the media.

The LDP is wasting time making a decision that should be made in one minute - allow women to the throne. Because it’s the right thing to do! Some traditions need to be retired, as they serve no useful purpose. This male-only tradition is one of them.

@ThonTaddeo

It wasn't ancient and medieval times. After the Meiji Restoration the Emperor became the head of the army and as a woman was considered incapable of doing this, it was determined that the Emperor should be a man.

Government: "It seems we cannot possibly have the debate at present as there are two sides. We must wait until there is no divide and there is only one side -- OURS -- to have a true and honest debate on why females can never inherit the Chrysanthemum throne."

zones2surf:

What boggles my mind is the idea that so many conservatives are so wedded to the idea that imperial succession must only be to males!

Why???

Can anyone give any coherent argument for this??

Japan allows succession to females. It is less common, but there have been 10 examples in history.

33th Suiko (推古天皇) 592-628

35th Kougyku (皇極天皇) 642-645

37th Saimei (斉明天皇) 655-661

41st Jito (持統天皇) 686-697

43rd Genmei (元明天皇) 707-715

44th Gensho (元正天皇) 715-724

46th Koken (孝謙天皇) 749-758

48th Shoutoku (称徳天皇) 764-770

109th Meisho (明正天皇) 1629-1643

117th Gosakuramachi (後桜町天皇) 1762-1770

Can anyone give any coherent argument for this??

The hardcore believe that the Emperor is semi-divine, that he is literally descended from a goddess. Prime Minister Mori made comments along those lines some years ago and Shinzo Abe clearly is of the same belief. The Showa emperor may have "renounced" his divinity but that was only under duress and so doesn't count. Shifting the line from patrilineal to matrilineal would raise the possibility of a female empress being impregnated by an "impure" person and the divine line being broken. Or something like that.

Girls can lead too.

All the progressives posting in favor of female succession seem to be ignoring one important fact: the very concept of royal and imperial power is an anachronism from an earlier time. Making the royal family "woke" won't change that fact.

Saying that female succession is necessary to bring the royalty into the modern age is like saying that death by lethal injection or by particle beam is necessary to bring capital punishment into the modern age. Both royalty and capital punishment are anachronisms from an earlier age, even if you give them a "modern," "high tech" or "woke" gloss over the top.