"If Princess Aiko becomes the reigning Empress, and gets involved with a blue-eyed foreigner while studying abroad and marries him, their child may be the Emperor," Hiranuma told about 40 lawmakers, academics and supporters at a Tokyo hall. "We should never let that happen."

Female on throne could marry foreigner, Hiranuma warns


The Associated Press
Dozens of conservative lawmakers and their supporters Wednesday attacked a proposal to let females and their descendents ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne, warning the move threatens a centuries-old tradition -- and could even allow foreign blood into the Imperial line.

The lawmakers, led by former trade minister Takeo Hiranuma, are fighting a bill being drafted by the government to avert a succession crisis in the Imperial family by allowing reigning empresses and their descendents.

Females have been barred from the throne since the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and a 1947 law further restricted ascension to males from the male line. No woman has reigned in more than 200 years.

The Imperial family has not produced a male heir since the 1960s and public support has been growing for a change in the law to allow Princess Aiko, the only child Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, to ascend to the throne.

Hiranuma, however, warned the reform could corrupt the Imperial line, which he said has been the supreme symbol of Japanese national and ethnic identity for centuries.

"If Aiko becomes the reigning empress and gets involved with a blue-eyed foreigner while studying abroad and marries him, their child may be the emperor," Hiranuma told about 40 lawmakers, academics and supporters at a Tokyo hall. "We should never let that happen."

Despite the overwhelming public support for the reform, traditionalists have stepped up a campaign to quash the move -- going so far as to propose bringing back concubines to breed male descendants as was done until the Taisho Era (1912-1926). Others have argued the aristocracy, banned after World War II, should be reinstated as a way of broadening the pool of candidates for the throne.

i agree!!!

do they still give the "god" status to the emperor? 

i think they should just get rid of royal crap altogether...like they would need it these day and age. 

many japanese think that hiranuma has a lot of balls and says what needs to be said.

foreigners like all of us should stay out of japanese domestic affairs. i am sure some would argue that only Paekche clans with ancient ties to Japanese royal lines can comment, however I think Hiranuma is a brave man for saying what needs to be said.

btw, I don't think British men would want to see an Asian male marry Princess Diana. Oh wait, they set up an "accident" for her to die when she got involved with a middle eastern man.

do they still give the "god" status to the emperor? 

i think they should just get rid of royal crap altogether...like they would need it these day and age. 

I didn't say he should be allowed on the throne but it's funny how he's bringing this up when they're talking about women having the power, notice he didn't say anything about Japanese males marrying foreigners
British males didn't actually care that Princess Diana was with a middle eastern guy, the general public was just glad she was happy considering her $hit marriage to Charles.

So you think its some anti-female having power bias rather than a genuine concern about a female empress potentially handing over royal power to a foreign blue eyed male?

^ okay. but i wouldn't want a blue eyed foreigner to be emporer of japan either. i think in general women rulers are too susceptible to foreign powers. more than males are. but japan, china, korea have all had women rulers in the past 200 years. and we have yet to see a woman head of state in america, so i don't think the west is in a position to criticize this law.

^ okay. but i wouldn't want a blue eyed foreigner to be emporer of japan either. i think in general women rulers are too susceptible to foreign powers. more than males are. but japan, china, korea have all had women rulers in the past 200 years. and we have yet to see a woman head of state in america, so i don't think the west is in a position to criticize this law.

^ okay. but i wouldn't want a blue eyed foreigner to be emporer of japan either. i think in general women rulers are too susceptible to foreign powers. more than males are. but japan, china, korea have all had women rulers in the past 200 years. and we have yet to see a woman head of state in america, so i don't think the west is in a position to criticize this law.

many japanese think that hiranuma has a lot of balls and says what needs to be said.

...i am sure some would argue that only Paekche clans with ancient ties to Japanese royal lines can comment, however I think Hiranuma is a brave man for saying what needs to be said.

whatever kid shes gonna have is gonna be ugly

Should I expect Hiranuma to force the current Japanese royalty to commit incest in-breeding?  After all, other royal families in the past were documented doing it, as it gave the newborn "pure royal blood." 

This is stupid, would the same thing not happen if a male royal married a foreigner. They just don't want to allow women to have the power and are using this anti-foreigner crap as some kind of pathetic justification.