日本参议院通过《皇室典范》历史性修正案 仍禁止女性继承皇位Japan Revises Imperial Succession Rules but Maintains Ban on Female Emperors

日本参议院全体会议于2026年7月17日周五正式表决通过了旨在保存皇室成员数量的法案包。在此之前，该法案已于上周在众议院获得通过。随着参议院的批准，该法案完成了全部国会立法程序，随后将进入最后的法定程序以使这些修改正式生效。

The House of Councillors, Japan's upper house of parliament, approved the package of bills aimed at preserving the imperial family during a plenary session on Friday, July 17, 2026. This vote completed the legislative process for the historic measures, following the bill's passage through the House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, last week. The legislation will now move through the final legal procedures before the changes officially take effect.

这一立法通过是自1947年《皇室典范》颁布以来，日本在79年间首次对该法进行实质性修改。日本皇室被认为是世界上现存最古老的连续世袭君主制家族，其血脉据称可追溯到2600多年前。面对皇室成员人数不断减少和老龄化的危机，日本国会通过这一历史性修正案，试图通过法律手段来维持皇室的成员规模，并确保其能够继续履行公共职责。

The parliamentary approval represents the first substantive overhaul of the Imperial House Law in 79 years, since its enactment in 1947. Japan's imperial family is widely considered the world's oldest continuous hereditary monarchy, with a lineage believed to stretch back more than 2,600 years. Facing a critical shortage of members due to a shrinking and fast-aging royal family, the Japanese parliament enacted these changes to secure the number of imperial family members and ensure they can continue to perform their public duties and official activities.

此次通过的修正案引入了两项旨在扩大皇室规模的具体举措。第一项举措允许女性皇室成员在与平民结婚后继续保留其皇室身份。根据此前的规定，女性成员一旦与普通人结婚就必须脱离皇族，这导致了皇室成员数量的持续流失。新法案通过保留这些女性成员的身份，旨在让她们能够继续留在皇室并协助履行各项公共职责。

The newly enacted revisions introduce two specific measures designed to expand the shrinking ranks of the imperial family. The first measure allows princesses and other female royal members to retain their imperial status even after marrying commoners. Under the previous rules, female members were required to leave the imperial family upon marriage to a commoner, which steadily depleted the family's numbers. By allowing them to keep their royal status, the law aims to ensure they can remain in the family and continue performing official public duties.

第二项举措则允许皇室收养来自11个前皇室分支中、年龄在15岁及以上的男系男性后代。这些前皇室分支在数十年前失去了皇室身份，而新法案打破了以往被认为不可行的限制，允许这些未婚的男系男性成员通过收养程序加入现有的16人皇室。根据修正案，这些被收养者的男系男性后代在未来将拥有继承皇位的资格，以此来确保皇位继承人的延续。

The second measure permits the imperial family to adopt male-line descendants aged 15 and older from 11 former branch families that lost their royal status decades ago. This change, which was previously considered unfeasible, paves the way for unmarried male descendants from these former branches to join the current 16-member imperial family. Under the revised law, the male descendants of these adopted members will be eligible to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, thereby securing a pool of future heirs.

尽管日本舆论和多项民意调查显示，公众广泛支持允许女性继承皇位，但此次通过的新法案依然坚持了男系男性继承的传统，明确禁止女性登基。这一规定使德仁天皇的独生女、现年24岁的爱子公主依然无法获得皇位继承资格。爱子公主在国民中拥有极高的人气，许多日本民众表达了希望她未来能够继承皇位的愿望，然而新法案并未对这一核心限制做出妥协。

Despite opinion polls showing broad public support for allowing women to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, the newly revised law strictly maintains the traditional ban on female emperors, insisting that only paternal-lineage men can succeed. This preservation of the male-only succession rule means that Princess Aiko, the 24-year-old only child of Emperor Naruhito, remains entirely ineligible to succeed her father. Princess Aiko is hugely popular among the Japanese public, with many citizens expressing a strong desire to see her become the successor, yet the legislative overhaul sidestepped any changes to this restriction.

根据现行的男系继承规则，由于女性被排除在继承序列之外，德仁天皇之后的皇位继承顺序将不得不转移到他的弟弟，随后是天皇19岁的侄子悠仁亲王，以及天皇90岁的叔父。这种对男系血统的严格坚持引发了外界的广泛争议，一些批评人士和皇家观察家担忧，在皇室成员本就稀缺的情况下，继续将女性排除在继承人范围之外，可能会对这个古老家族的长期延续带来风险。

Under the current male-only succession system, the line of inheritance must instead pass from the Emperor to his younger brother, then to his 19-year-old nephew Prince Hisahito, and finally to the Emperor's 90-year-old uncle. Royal watchers and experts have expressed concern over this rigid adherence to paternal-lineage rules, warning that continuing to exclude highly popular female members like Princess Aiko from the succession line could ultimately threaten the long-term survival of the shrinking, fast-aging imperial institution.

日本皇室目前正面临着严峻的成员萎缩危机，在现行制度下，整个皇室仅剩下三位合法的男性皇位继承人。这一紧迫的现状使得皇位继承问题成为日本国内极具争议的核心议题。随着新法案坚持男系男性继承传统，现任德仁天皇之后的继承顺序已经明确。根据这一规则，皇位的第一顺位继承人将是天皇的弟弟，紧随其后的是天皇年仅19岁的侄子悠仁亲王，而最后一位继承人则是天皇已届90岁高龄的叔父。

The Japanese monarchy is currently grappling with a severe crisis of a shrinking royal family, leaving the imperial institution with only three male heirs eligible to succeed Emperor Naruhito. This pressing shortage of successors has made the issue of imperial succession a highly divisive and urgent matter in Japan. Under the revised law, which strictly maintains the paternal-lineage requirement, the line of succession is set to pass from the current Emperor to his younger brother. Following him in the line of inheritance is the Emperor's 19-year-old nephew, Prince Hisahito, and the final remaining heir is the Emperor's 90-year-old uncle.

面对仅存三位继承人的局面，日本各界对皇室的长期存续深感担忧。尽管此次通过的修正案试图通过收养前皇室分支成员来增加男性成员数量，但由于继承人范围依然被严格限制在男系男性，皇室老龄化与年轻一代男性成员极度稀缺的矛盾并未得到根本解决。这种继承结构的脆弱性，使得悠仁亲王几乎独自承担了延续皇室未来的重任，也让公众和专家对这一古老君主制能否在未来世代中平稳延续保持高度关注。

With only three male heirs left in the entire family, royal watchers and experts have raised serious concerns about the long-term survival of the 1,500-year-old hereditary institution. Although the newly passed measures attempt to bolster the imperial ranks by allowing the adoption of male-line descendants from former branch families, the strict exclusion of female members from the throne leaves the future of the monarchy highly vulnerable. This demographic reality places an immense burden on the young Prince Hisahito to secure the future lineage, highlighting the ongoing fragility of the imperial succession system.

尽管新法案旨在解决皇室成员流失的危机，但许多专家和批评人士对此次修改表达了深切的担忧。前日本外交官、与皇室关系密切的登户精一郎（Seiichiro Noboru）指出，该修正案具有一个非常明确的意图，那就是阻止未来出现女性天皇。批评人士认为，这种对男系继承传统的坚持，可能会给这个拥有1500年历史的世袭制度带来毁灭性的风险，甚至危及皇室的长期存续。

While the new legislation aims to address the dwindling ranks of the monarchy, it has drawn sharp criticism from experts and royal observers. Former Japanese diplomat Seiichiro Noboru, who has ties to the imperial family, pointed out that the revision has a very clear objective, which is to prevent the future emergence of a female emperor. Critics argue that by rigidly insisting on male-only succession, the new measures could ultimately doom the 1,500-year-old hereditary institution rather than save it.

在政治层面上，执政的自民党及其盟友日本维新会因极力推动保留男系和父系继承传统而面临批评。与此同时，日本作为君主立宪制国家，其皇室的稳定与国际形象紧密相连。随着日本逐步摆脱二战后的军事限制，并致力于将自己塑造为基于规则的国际秩序的可靠维护者，皇室的政治稳定和公众支持对于其国家形象而言具有重要意义。

Politically, critics have targeted the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, the Japan Innovation Party, for their apparent push to preserve the tradition of male and paternal-line imperial succession. This debate unfolds as the political stability and public support of Japan's constitutional monarchy remain highly significant. As Japan casts off its post-war military restraints and portrays itself as a reliable defender of a rules-based international order, the stability of its imperial institution continues to carry weight both at home and abroad.