Imperial Household Law Revision Bill Passes on Female Royals, Former Branch Heirs

2026-07-10

Passed by Lower House Panel

A revision bill to the Imperial Household Law aimed at securing the number of imperial family members was approved on the 10th by a majority of ruling bloc lawmakers and others in the House of Representatives Steering Committee. Some opposition parties, including the Center-right Reform Alliance and the Democratic Party for the People, also voted in favor.

The bill is expected to pass the lower house later in the day by a majority of votes from the ruling coalition and some opposition parties. It will then move to deliberations in the upper house.

Two Pillars of the Revision

The bill consists of two main pillars: allowing female imperial family members to remain in the imperial family after marriage and bringing male-line descendants of former imperial branches back into the imperial family as adopted heirs. The government compiled the bill in response to what both houses of parliament’s presiding and deputy presiding officers described as the 'consensus of the legislature' at a plenary meeting of all 13 parties and groups.

On the proposal from the presiding and deputy presiding officers of both houses, the Center-right group had sought revisions to the supplementary resolution. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told the committee that 'this revision does not pre-empt or constrain future consideration by the legislature regarding the way imperial succession should be handled.'

Female Royals and Adoption

Under the current Imperial Household Law, Article 12 stipulates that female imperial family members lose their imperial status if they marry a man who is neither the emperor nor a member of the imperial family. The revised bill would delete Article 12 so they can retain their status after marriage. For current female imperial family members, however, a supplementary provision would allow them to leave imperial status at their own discretion when they marry. Married female imperial family members would be subject to the Basic Resident Register Act, just like ordinary citizens.

The current Article 9 prohibits the adoption of imperial family members. The revised bill would create an exception to this rule and establish 'male adopted imperial family members' in Chapter 6 of the Imperial Household Law. Eligible persons would be male-line descendants, aged 15 or older and without a spouse or children, from the 11 former imperial branches that left the imperial family in 1947.

The adopted person himself would be excluded from the scope of Article 2, which determines the order of succession, and would not have succession rights. However, the bill would provide that if a boy is born to the adopted person, that child would be granted succession rights. As for the application of Article 2, the bill explicitly states that it would be based on 'the line of the original family home of the adopted person.'

Opposition Response and Next Steps

Tamaki Yuichiro, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, said at the committee on the 10th that concern has sparked debate over whether new rules were being introduced on imperial succession. In response, Kihara said that for descendants of the adopted heirs, 'judgment will be made based on the current Imperial Household Law.'

The Center-right group had asked for new items to be added to the supplementary resolution, calling on the government to conduct a 'prompt review' of succession rights for boys born to adopted heirs and to take measures if necessary. At a press conference on the 10th, Center-right leader Ogawa said that, after the committee response, he judged that the same point had been secured, and indicated the party would support the bill. 'We want to avoid turning this into a partisan confrontation. It is a painful decision, but we will support it,' he said.

The government approved the bill at a cabinet meeting on June 30 and submitted it to the lower house. Deliberations began after the confrontation between the ruling and opposition camps over issues including how to handle the bill to cut the number of lower house lawmakers was put to rest, and a 'quiet environment' was said to have been established.

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