Japan May Allow Women on Throne

[Quest]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4630464.stm

How does it work? Will the children of the Queen carry on the royal family name or the family name of the father?

and shrine visits defended

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-01-22T023817Z_01_T210520_RTRUKOC_0_UK-JAPAN-SHRINE.xml&archived=False

[geraldc]

With Queen Elizabeth, it's very strange with the surname as they don't tend to use them.

Her surname is Windsor, they changed it during the first world war, as it was originally German, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Prince Philips surname is Mountbatten (changed from the German Battenburg) and in 1960 it was agreed that their offspring would have the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. However Princes William and Harry, seem to use the surname Wales, and Prince Edward uses the surname Windsor.

There's also some discussion whether or not Charles will use the name Charles when he becomes king, there are some rumours he wants to be called George.

[bhchao]

A male heir was born yesterday in the imperial family.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Japan-Imperial-Succession.html?hp&ex=1157601600&en=4ee738095ea1c895&ei=5094&partner=homepage

TOKYO (AP) -- With shouts of ''Banzai,'' Japanese celebrated the birth Wednesday of the imperial family's first male heir since the 1960s, a development that squelched hopes of reform to allow women on the throne.

Princess Kiko, wife of Prince Akishino, gave birth to a boy by Caesarean section at a Tokyo hospital. The boy, who will be named Tuesday, is Emperor Akihito's first grandson and is third in the line to the throne, behind brothers Crown Prince Naruhito and Akishino.

The news was cheered by many Japanese, who maintain an enduring respect for the imperial family more than 60 years after Emperor Hirohito renounced his status as a divinity at the end of World War II.

Newspapers published extra editions, supporters gathered outside the hospital where the 39-year-old Kiko gave birth, and TV networks ran continuous coverage on the delivery. Fans shouted ''Banzai'' -- ''Ten Thousand Years'' -- outside the imperial palace.

''Not only the members of the imperial family, but all the people of Japan must have felt happy,'' Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said. ''We're hoping for the boy's healthy growth.''

The boy was born at 8:27 a.m. and weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces, the Imperial Household Agency said. Both the infant and his mother were in good condition.

The arrival of a prince -- the first since Akishino's birth in 1965 -- ended for now a succession crunch in the coming generation of the royal family, which traces its roots back 1,500 years. Until Wednesday, Akishino and Naruhito had three daughters between them, but no sons.

Royal watchers warned that with only one male heir in the family, the throne could face another crisis if he and his eventual wife don't produce a son.

''The imperial family has escaped the succession crisis, but only for the moment,'' said Koichi Yokota, a professor in constitutional law at Ryutsu Keizai University in Ibaraki. ''The family still has only one male successor in the youngest generation, and the system is far from stable.''

The birth also was likely to put the brakes on a divisive debate over whether to change Japan's 1947 imperial law to allow women to inherit the throne. Under that law, only men in an all-male line to the emperor can assume the crown.

While eight women have ruled as emperor over the centuries, the last taking the throne in 1762, they served mostly as placeholders until a suitable male could be found. The postwar law codified that tradition.

A high-level panel last year recommended allowing women on the throne, then letting them pass the crown to their offspring. The proposal had support from Koizumi and the public, but conservatives mounted a vociferous attack on the plan, saying it would end centuries of tradition....

[HashiriKata]

Wànsùi! Wànsùi!

[Lu]

I do think it's a bit kexi. They were so close to allowing women to the throne, and now it's not going to happen anytime soon.

Good for Aiko, she won't have to endure the pressure her mother has. But then, this little boy will have to do it instead, and the pressure on his head will be even bigger. The continuation of 1500 years of imperial family will rest on his head (or rather, on his...)

[bhchao]

Monaco faced a similar situation when the late Prince Rainier had a French law changed so that France would not annex Monaco in the event Prince Albert remains childless.

Under the new law, Caroline and Stephanie would take over the throne in succession if Albert fails to produce an heir.

Personally I prefer a throne to remain in the hands of a male heir following the father to son tradition.

[Lu]

bhchao: Why? It's not as if the emperor/prince has any real power, so it doesn't make much of a difference, and even if s/he had real power, why would a man be better at this than a woman?

[bhchao]

Lu:

Because the family line will end once a female family member takes the throne and marries outside of the family.

Henry VIII lopped off the heads of two of his six wives while in the process of seeking a male heir. And look at what happened to his daughter Queen Elizabeth I who never married. Even if she did marry and produce a son, the son would bear the family name of the "outside" man, not the family name of the royal house.

Not surprisingly, the Tudor line ended with Queen Elizabeth I.

[skylee]

bhchao: what about Queen Victoria, Queen Eliszabeth II and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark? They had / have children / male heir. How do you count the family lines in these cases?

[bhchao]

Queen Victoria was the last monarch of the Hanovers. Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Margrethe II are rare exceptions where both married men of other nationalities; Prince Philip of Greece, and Prince Henrik, (who was previously a French diplomat) respectively.

Prince Philip renounced his allegiances and previous titles to Greece, the country which he fled by circumstance due to revolutionary fervor, to marry Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince Henrik had to change his name, nationality, and religion to marry Queen Margrethe II, albeit still facing problems of being accepted by the Danish public.

Both instances were not free of controversy. Imagine a Japanese man of commoner descent marrying an heiress on the Chrysanthemum Throne and changing his lineage name just to marry her. It can happen, but the chances are slim. Also can you imagine a homogeneous Japanese public accepting a foreign man, and allowing him into the blood lineage of the royal family?

[Lu]

bhchao: I don't agree with you, but I see your point. 'Tis the tradition. The Japanese didn't have objections against a woman on the throne, though, so maybe they weren't afraid of a family line ending.

In Holland the same family has been on the throne for several centuries, and the fact that the last three people on that throne were queens didn't change that at all. When the current queen retires we'll have a king again, and that's not a problem either.

[skylee]

Still the orange?

My brother loves the orange colour (weird for a guy) and whenever he wears orange I tease him for being like a 荷蘭國家隊.

[Lu]

Yep, still the Orange.

A friend of mine once said only Dutch people get away with wearing orange. I know one Japanese guy who also could wear it without looking stupid, but then that guy has so much style he can even look stylish in pink.