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Friday December 2, 11:46 PMFEATURE: Britain's royal reformers to cite Japan's changes in their campaign(Kyodo) _ Academics and politicians hope that moves by Japan to allow females to ascend to the imperial throne may spur similar reforms to the British monarchy, which has also been beset by claims of religious and gender discrimination.Most experts in Britain welcomed plans which will see the end of a centuries-old tradition in Japan of allowing only the emperor's male relatives to take the throne. A Japanese government panel recently proposed that the emperor's firstborn child should be given priority, regardless of sex, in the order of succession. Tokyo is expected to implement the reforms next year. Royal reformers in Britain -- who have long complained about the bias in favor of males ascending to the British throne -- have been looking closely at the developments in Tokyo, and expect to use Japan's experience in their fight for change. Martyn Bennett, a monarchy expert from Nottingham Trent University said, "I think it will do the Japanese monarchy good and ensure its continuance because it will no longer look anachronistic in the 21st century. "It might have the interesting effect of bringing it to the attention of the British Parliament. One would hope there's a liberalization of succession rights here." If Japan implements the proposed changes, it will indeed have a more "progressive" system than Britain. In the British line of succession, women can ascend to the throne. However, preference is given to younger brothers over elder sisters. The monarch must also be a Protestant and in communion with the Church of England. In addition, the monarch is not allowed to marry a Catholic. Over the years, politicians have tried to change these laws but have failed due to a lack of government support. Many feel that it is not a priority issue. Indeed, in recent times Britain has not faced the potentially destabilizing scenarios thrown up by the current rules on succession. Alf Dubs, a member of the House of Lords, the upper legislative chamber, who unsuccessfully tried to end the male bias and religious discrimination through new laws, welcomed the panel's proposals. He said, "Japan's decision seems to me to be a perfectly sensible one. I think it might have some influence in Britain. I will use it in my arguments after Christmas when I will ask some questions on the matter in the House of Lords. "In the fullness of time, I believe that we will get the reforms through, but it depends on the priorities of those in power." Dubs believes that the rules in Britain should be clarified now --when there is currently no likelihood of a female heir being superceded by a male relative -- in order to avoid any arguments or crisis in the future. Charles Mosley, editor-in-chief of Debrett's, which publishes several books on the British aristocracy, said Japan's reforms might lead to further problems. He also shied away from changing the British system. He said, "It's (Japanese reforms) in line with current trends, but the problem is that once you change the old rules, some people might suggest changing other rules governing the succession, such as age. They may propose that the line of succession be extended to include cousins and nephews." Mosley is non-committal on reform, arguing that he is a great believer of the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." He believes that most Britons are happy with the current arrangement and the Japanese decision will not have an effect. The panel's decision will get the imperial family out of a sticky situation. No male family members have been born since Prince Akishino in 1965, who is second in line to the throne after his older brother, Crown Prince Naruhito. If the law is revised, the crown prince's only daughter, 3-year-old Princess Aiko, will be second in line to the throne after her father and become the country's first female monarch since the 18th century. Conservatives have criticized the plans saying they will impact on imperial history which has seen an "unbroken bloodline" for over 2,000 years in passing down the throne to heirs having emperors on their father's side. |
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