this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2025
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Japan’s beloved Princess Aiko is often cheered like a pop star.

During a visit to Nagasaki with Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, the sound of her name being screamed by well-wishers along the roads overwhelmed the cheers for her parents.

As she turns 24 on Monday, her supporters want to change Japan’s male-only succession law, which prohibits Aiko, the emperor’s only child, from becoming monarch.

Along with frustration that the discussion on succession rules has stalled, there’s a sense of urgency. Japan’s shrinking monarchy is on the brink of extinction. Naruhito’s teenage nephew is the only eligible heir from the younger generation.

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[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 9 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Aiko has gained admirers since debuting as an adult royal in 2021, when she impressed the public as intelligent, friendly, caring and funny.

Oh yeah? The Spanish princess is learning to fly fighter jets:

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 6 minutes ago

Live action Porco Rosso is looking rather different

[–] Meron35@lemmy.world 12 points 1 hour ago (2 children)

Japanese conservative monarchists are wild.

Look up the Google Maps reviews of the imperial palace. For some context, the majority of the imperial palace is completely off limits to the general public (in stark contrast to most developed countries), and the royal family does a new years greeting.

The reviews are monarchists unironically saying things like that they travelled for days, lined up for hours, caught a glimpse of one of the royal family, were temporarily transported to heaven, and will dedicate their lives hoping for the forever prosperity of the royal family.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 5 minutes ago

I guess they missed the memo on how their monarchs aren't actually divine, or maybe they really, really, REALLY want to keep that tradition alive. Could be both, too, or other reasons.

[–] uncouple9831@lemmy.zip 3 points 24 minutes ago

So they're like maga

[–] oftenawake@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 32 minutes ago

Abolish all monarchies!

[–] nuko147@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

TIL that Japan has royal family.

[–] Nanook@lemmy.zip 37 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Crazy to think this family started WW2 with the Nazis and here we are talking about how she should be able to be empress.

[–] Kirp123@lemmy.world 32 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

The Japanese Imperial family is still in power because the US found them a useful tool for controlling the Japanese population after the war. Also she is not responsible for the sins/crimes of her grandfather.

If the Japanese people wish to idolize her and make her the Empress who are we to deny their wishes?

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 11 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Agreed on her not being responsible for the sins of her grandfather, but it's kinda fucked up that her grandfather was allowed to keep ruling after WWII, rather than being replaced by a family member or something.

[–] Kirp123@lemmy.world 11 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (2 children)

Blame Douglas McArthur, he came up with the idea of keeping her grandfather as Emperor and he made sure to exclude any evidence that could be used to try him for war crimes.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

I mean... yes, thats true, buts it more complicated than that.

At the end of WW2, elements within the Japanese military and government executed an ultranationalist coup attempt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ky%C5%ABj%C5%8D_incident

In broad strokes, the Emperor was planning to surrender, after the Potsdam Conference, after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, after the Soviet Union declared war on Japan.

A significant number of military higher ups, many various officers... decided that was bullshit, and concocted a plan to take the Imperial family hostage, destroy the Emperor's recorded speech that was to announce the surrender and urge all Japanese people to actually surrender.

This plan ended up failing, but maybe now you can see that significant portions of the Japanese military wanted to keep fighting, literally to death.

So, if you're trying to make sure that something like this coup does not reoccur in the years following surrender... it makes some sense to try and support the people who wanted to comply with you, wanted to end the war, who would and actually could ensure stability.

Consider an alternative example.

Iraq, 2003-6.

The US basically just wholesale dismantles the Iraqi government, including its military, which was a significant source of employment for a lot of people.

Those former Iraqi military members then go on to be a very significant, effective and capable element of the Iraqi "Insurgency"/Resistance, for... what, 10, 15 years?

Can you not imagine something like that playing out in Japan, up into the 1960s?

I'm not trying to endorse or defend anybody's policies or actions here... I'm just trying to point out that it's more complicated than how you summarize it.

[–] Damage@feddit.it 3 points 2 hours ago

Same for the fascists and mafia in Italy, they weren't purged because communists bad

[–] velindora@lemmy.cafe 41 points 6 hours ago (2 children)
[–] johan@feddit.nl 12 points 4 hours ago

Well a monarchy is backwards and women not being allowed to become monarch is also backwards... So then we're looking forward, right?

[–] ballogh@sh.itjust.works 33 points 6 hours ago

It’s always japan. They rushed everything except culture in the race