← News Topics
Intermediate

Why Is Japan’s Imperial Family Getting Smaller?

Day 1

日本の皇室はなぜ小さくなっていくのか

15 July 2026

Japan Imperial Family reform and succession debate

Japan is moving closer to changing some of the rules governing its Imperial Family. In July 2026, the House of Representatives approved a bill intended to prevent the family from continuing to shrink in number. Although the reform has sometimes been discussed alongside the question of whether Japan should allow a female emperor, the current bill deals mainly with a different and more immediate problem: how to maintain enough Imperial Family members to carry out official duties.

日本は、皇室を規定する規則の一部を変更することに近づいています。2026年7月、衆議院は、皇族の数がさらに減り続けるのを防ぐための法案を可決しました。この改革は、日本が女性天皇を認めるべきかどうかという問いと並べて議論されることもありますが、現行の法案が主に扱うのは、より緊急で別の問題です。公務を遂行する十分な皇族をどう維持するか、という問題です。

Under the current Imperial House Law, a female member of the Imperial Family loses her royal status when she marries someone outside the family. Male members do not face the same rule. As a result, the family has gradually become smaller as princesses have married and begun private lives. The official Imperial Family currently consists of only 16 people, including several elderly members.

現行の皇室典範のもとでは、皇族の女性メンバーは、皇族以外の人と結婚すると皇族の身分を失います。男性メンバーには同じ規則はありません。その結果、内親王・女王が結婚して民間人としての生活を始めるにつれ、皇族は徐々に小さくなってきました。公式の皇族は現在わずか16人で、高齢のメンバーも数人含まれています。

This decline matters because Imperial Family members carry out a wide range of public duties. They attend national ceremonies, visit communities affected by disasters, support cultural and charitable organizations, and participate in international exchanges. The emperor has no political power under Japan’s Constitution, but the Imperial Family still plays an important symbolic role. A smaller family means that fewer people are available to perform these responsibilities.

この減少が重要なのは、皇族が幅広い公的役割を担っているからです。国家儀式に出席し、災害に見舞われた地域を訪問し、文化・慈善団体を支援し、国際交流に参加します。日本国憲法のもとで天皇に政治権力はありませんが、皇室は依然として重要な象徴的役割を果たしています。家族が小さくなると、これらの責任を果たせる人が減ります。

The proposed reform puts forward two main solutions. First, princesses would be allowed to retain their royal status after marrying a commoner. Their husbands and children would not automatically become members of the Imperial Family. Second, certain male-line descendants of former imperial branches could be adopted into the family. These branches left the Imperial Family in 1947, and their descendants have lived as private citizens ever since.

提案されている改革は、二つの主な解決策を示しています。第一に、内親王・女王は一般人と結婚した後も皇族の身分を保持できることになります。夫と子どもは自動的には皇族になりません。第二に、かつての皇族分家の一部の男系子孫が皇族に養子として迎えられる可能性があります。これらの分家は1947年に皇族を離脱し、その子孫はそれ以来民間人として生活してきました。

Both proposals are intended to ease the shortage of working family members, but they raise different questions. Supporters say the changes could preserve continuity without immediately altering the existing order of succession. Critics and cautious lawmakers question how people who have lived as private citizens would adjust to royal life and whether the rules could have broader effects in the future.

両方の提案は、公務を担う皇族の不足を緩和することを意図していますが、それぞれ異なる問いを投げかけます。支持者は、現行の皇位継承の順位を直ちに変えずに継続性を保つことができると言います。批判者や慎重な議員は、民間人として生活してきた人々が皇室生活にどのように適応するか、また規則が将来より広い影響を持ちうるかを問います。

It is therefore important to separate two debates. One concerns the practical size of the Imperial Family. The other concerns who may inherit the throne. The current reform addresses the first question more directly. Whether Japan should eventually permit a female emperor remains a separate and unresolved issue.

したがって、二つの議論を分けて考えることが重要です。一つは皇族の実際の規模に関するものです。もう一つは誰が皇位を継ぎうるかに関するものです。現行の改革は、前者の問いに、より直接的に対応しています。日本が最終的に女性天皇を認めるべきかどうかは、別の、まだ解決されていない問題のままです。

Vocabulary

  1. govern — to officially control or determine how something operates. Example: The law governs how the institution operates.
  2. shrink in number — to become smaller because the number of people or things is decreasing. Example: The organization may shrink in number over the next decade.
  3. commoner — a person who is not a member of a royal or noble family. Example: She married a commoner and left the royal family.
  4. symbolic role — a position that mainly represents an idea or institution rather than exercising political power. Example: The monarch has a symbolic role in the country.
  5. put forward — to formally suggest an idea or plan for consideration. Example: The committee put forward several proposals.
  6. male-line descendant — a person whose family connection is traced through a continuous line of fathers. Example: The proposal applies only to male-line descendants.
  7. ease the shortage — to make a lack of people or resources less serious. Example: The new policy may ease the shortage of workers.
  8. preserve continuity — to keep an institution or tradition continuing without a major break. Example: The reforms aim to preserve continuity while adapting to modern society.
  9. succession — the process by which someone officially takes over an important position, especially a throne. Example: The debate over imperial succession has continued for many years.

Comprehension Questions

  1. What immediate problem is the current reform intended to address?

    現行の改革が対処しようとしている緊急の問題は何ですか？

  2. Why has the Imperial Family gradually become smaller?

    皇族が徐々に小さくなってきたのはなぜですか？

  3. What are the two main solutions included in the proposed reform?

    提案されている改革に含まれる二つの主な解決策は何ですか？

  4. Does the current bill directly allow a female emperor? Explain your answer.

    現行の法案は女性天皇を直接認めていますか？答えを説明してください。

Discussion Questions

  1. Why is it important to separate the question of family size from the question of succession?

    家族の規模の問題と皇位継承の問題を分けることが重要なのはなぜですか？

  2. Should someone who marries retain an official position they were born into? What practical and personal factors should be considered?

    結婚した人は、生まれながらの公的地位を保持すべきですか？どのような実務的・個人的要因を考慮すべきですか？

  3. What difficulties might arise if people who have lived as private citizens are invited to join a royal family?

    民間人として生活してきた人々が王室に迎える場合、どのような困難が生じる可能性がありますか？

  4. When an old institution faces a shortage of members, how can it adapt without changing its basic identity too quickly?

    古い制度がメンバー不足に直面したとき、基本的なアイデンティティを急ぎすぎず変えずにどう適応できますか？

Speaking Task

  1. Imagine that a foreign friend asks: “Is Japan changing the law to allow Princess Aiko to become emperor?” Explain in about one minute: why the Imperial Family is becoming smaller; what the current reform proposes; and why the issue of a female emperor is a separate debate.

    外国の友人が「日本は愛子さまが天皇になれるよう法律を変えているのですか？」と尋ねたと想像してください。約1分間で、皇族が小さくなっている理由、現行の改革が提案していること、女性天皇の問題が別の議論である理由を説明してください。