No female Imperial Family member to attend enthronement-related rite

March 18, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese government plans not to have female members of the Imperial Family attend "Kenji to Shokei no Gi," one of core ceremonies to mark Crown Prince Naruhito's accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne following Emperor Akihito's abdication, it was learned Saturday.

The government will follow the example of the same ceremony held at the time of the current Emperor's enthronement, in which participants from the Imperial Family were all male, officials said.

Kenji to Shokei no Gi is set to take place on May 1 next year as a constitutional state act of the new Emperor to inherit the three sacred treasures together with the Imperial throne.

The ceremony has never been attended by women since the 1889 Imperial House code first stipulated that the succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne is limited to male offspring in the paternal line of the Imperial lineage.

The previous Kenji to Shokei no Gi was held on Jan. 7, 1989, as a state act for the first time. The ceremony was attended by the prime minister, other cabinet ministers, speakers and deputy speakers of both chambers of parliament and the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Jiji Press