No males have been born into the imperial family since 1965, and to avert a succession crisis, advisers to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi recommended in November that women and their children be given equal rights to inherit the throne.At the end of the war, all of the non-imperial aristocratic families were stripped of their titles and privileges. Most, of course, were very wealthy anyway and to this day many still are. It would be hillarious in a "you've got to be kidding" kind of way if, 60 years after they got stripped of their powers, the princely houses were reconstituted.
But while a majority of ordinary citizens back the change, conservative lawmakers and others are vowing to block it.
Instead, they want to revive princely houses abolished after World War Two to find a male heir, or even bring back the custom of imperial concubines.
Everywhere else in the world aristocracy is a dirty word. But not in Japan. Conservatives want to bring back the same class of people who were plundering, raping, pillaging, and profiteering from the Pacific War just so a girl doesn't get the throne.
After all, Japan was founded on these kinds of traditional family values.
1 comment:
A lot of Japanese aren't very clued in on the Pacific war, but what I don't want understand is why the Japanese people want to bring back a group that used to plunder, rape, pillage and profit from Japanese people. Maybe they want to bring back the untouchable caste while they're at it. (You didn't know Japan had an untouchable caste? It's another of those things that doesn't get mentioned much. Like the war.)
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