January 19, 2022

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on January 18 at a press conference in the Diet building said that allowing women to succeed to the imperial throne is rational in the light of the postwar Constitution.

Koike made this remark in his comment on a report dealing with the issue of imperial succession which was recently released by a government-appointed panel of experts.

Koike said that the JCP has been taking the position that issues regarding the emperor system should be discussed and examined based on the spirit of the Constitution. He noted that Article 1 of the supreme law defines the Emperor as the “symbol of the State and of the unity of the People”. Koike said, “Judging from this provision, there is no rational reason that only men can be successors to the current Emperor. To allow women to take the throne is reasonable in light of that provision and the spirit of the Constitution.” He added that for the same reason, an emperor from the matrilineal line should also be accepted.

Furthermore, Koike said that when the imperial succession issue comes up among Diet agenda items, the JCP will engage in Diet debates from the above-mentioned standpoint.