Ochanomizu University and Tsukuba University 's affiliated schools in Tokyo are adjacent to each other, separated by a single road. As if to build a bridge across that road, a special, limited-time "affiliated school advancement" system was established, and it has been three years since Prince Akishino's eldest son crossed this bridge. Now he has reached Tsukuba University in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, two hours from his home, through a so-called essay and interview that is no real exam . The Satsuma-Choshu clan government, under the protection of the UK, used the absolute authority of the modern Emperor system as a shield to pursue the path of becoming a military power with the goal of expanding the imperial territory and invading Asia . In 1945, this "opening up the country to expel the barbarians" policy collapsed. The Emperor system barely survived, but a secret struggle seems to be unfolding completely away from the consensus of the sovereign people over the position of the third "pure symbolic Emperor" after Emperor Showa. The key point in considering this issue is how the US and UK, which are protectorates of Japan , are considering the future of the Emperor system.
Note: 50 years since the founding of Tsukuba University, the starting point of right-wing shift. Contamination by the Unification Church, exclusion of leftists, favoritism towards the Imperial Family, and encouraging conformity to the system . 2022/10/31
■ The Imperial Family Barely Survives
The US occupation of Japan officially began on September 2, 1945 and lasted for seven years. The Constitution of Japan, which was promulgated the following November 1946, confined the emperor, the supreme commander who led the ferocious Japanese militarism, in the cage of the symbolic emperor system. However, this was only possible because GHQ in Tokyo barely won a fierce battle between the Far Eastern Committee in Washington , which was made up of a majority of countries that called for the prosecution of the emperor at the Tokyo Trials and the abolition of the emperor system, and the Civil Affairs Bureau of the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ), which drafted the new constitution.
The Far Eastern Commission was the highest policy-making body, consisting of representatives from 11 countries, established to allow the Allied Powers to occupy and administer Japan . GHQ was expected to follow the decisions of the Commission, but GHQ had a draft of a new constitution submitted to the Japanese Diet before the Far Eastern Commission began to take action in earnest. In theory, the draft was submitted by the Japanese government, narrowly avoiding intervention by the Far Eastern Commission. This is why it is said that the Japanese Constitution was drafted in nine days.
■Aiming for the imperial system to disappear naturally?
Another major factor was that pro-American factions existed at the core of Japan's ruling class, particularly among the emperor's close associates and the imperial court before and during the war, and Wall Street, which was connected to them, supported the continuation of the imperial system. Nakamura Masanori's "The Road to a Symbolic Emperor System - U.S. Ambassador Gru and His Enthronement" (1989) and other books shed light on the circumstances of this period. However, it seems that the U.S. and British sides believed that the Japanese imperial system would naturally disappear after 100 years.
This is clear from the fact that GHQ drastically reduced the number of Imperial Family members by abolishing the Imperial Family except for those directly in the Imperial line, and further continued the restriction of the Emperor to "male descendants in the male line." As intended, now, excluding Crown Prince Akishino, the only person who can become the next Emperor is Prince Akishino's eldest son. In addition, after experiencing the thorough bashing of the Crown Prince and Empress, who were commoners after the war, and the media's thorough criticism of Prince Akishino's connections in the Imperial Court, as well as the extraordinary pressure revealed by the Prince Hiro Rebellion (2004), there is a high possibility that no women will be willing to marry Prince Akishino's eldest son, who will be attending school in Tsukuba from next spring. Even if they do marry, there is no guarantee that they will have a boy.■ The battle for succession
The so-called rock-solid conservatives, led by the Association of Shinto Shrines and anti-American right-wing groups , insist on male lineage, but the majority are moving towards accepting a female emperor. This is because, in order to contain the myth of a "divine nation ruled by men who have inherited an unprecedented imperial line for 126 generations," as envisioned by far-right nationalists, they first want to destroy the patriarchal system of male lineage succession and institutionalize a "soft imperial family." The United States and Britain, which govern Japan, have needed to destroy the myth of a divine nation, the source of the emergence of living gods. The fact that the current emperor has only one daughter is a golden opportunity, and the media has now begun to praise the emperor's eldest daughter as a "wise woman of great virtue."
When the emperor's eldest daughter was born in 2001, there was a sudden movement to review the Imperial House Law. This was due to the threat of a cut-off in the male line of succession. Meanwhile, Crown Princess Akishino gave birth to a boy in 2006 at the advanced age of 40. The movement to accept a female emperor faded away.
Why did Prince and Princess Akishino avoid Gakushuin, where they studied? This is only a guess, but Prince Akishino's eldest son has the handicap of being the son of the current emperor's younger brother. For this reason, perhaps they wanted him to graduate from a "highly educated university where commoners study," build a career, and show the world a new image of the emperor. From his high school days, he gathered researchers to help him write a paper on dragonflies, and in 2021, he applied for and won the 12th Children's Non-Fiction Literature Award sponsored by Kitakyushu City . Although they tried to let the public know that he had excellent observation and writing skills, his reputation plummeted when obvious plagiarism was discovered.
In the first place, it is suspected that the eldest son did not write the composition himself, but rather that it was a collaborative effort with his associates, including researchers. He commented, "I appreciate your pointing that out. I should have included references." However, the suspicion that the same conditions, that is, the same support system, will not be present in his future university studies cannot be dispelled. It seems that all of his previous attempts have failed.
The fact that admission from kindergarten to university was entirely by recommendation caused strong resentment among the common people. This recommendation system itself was a support system. Most people probably felt that it was a privileged admission.
■ It only amplified resentmentTsukuba University, which is a university that is in the business of courting the Imperial Family, has had Kyosuke Nagata, a pro-admissions president, in office for an unprecedented 10 years. Under Nagata, the university also became for the first time to hold the post of president of the National University Association. It seems that the university is counting on the fact that the ongoing "Tsukuba University admission" media fever will not only wipe away the university's image tainted by the Unification Church, but will also be its biggest "advertising pillar."
Tsukuba University has added "a broad interest in the biological world and the mechanisms of living things, and an A-level academic record in the school report card " to its recommendation criteria this time. It is inevitable that this will be mocked as building a long, long "recommendation bridge" from Tokyo to Tsukuba. If his ability cannot keep up with the flattery from those around him, just like in his junior high school essay submissions, the eldest son will be swayed by the various intentions of those around him, which will amplify the resentment and disappointment of the sovereign and people, and there is a great possibility that he will be viewed as "a person unfit to be the Emperor."
Crossroads or End?
In any case, among the vested interests and conservative elements in politics, bureaucracy, business, and academia, there is a fierce battle going on behind the scenes between those who support the continuation of the male lineage and those who accept a female emperor .
The modern Emperor System, which was born in 1867 when the era name was changed to Meiji following the Great Proclamation of the Restoration of Imperial Rule, became the pillar of the "Opening the country to expel foreigners". The Emperor System endured the unprecedented shock of Japan's defeat in 1945 , which was the failure of the expulsion of foreigners , and survived as a symbol. Although the symbolic Emperor System has survived thanks to the support of huge vested interests in Japan and the United States, it is now at a major crossroads, with the United Nations recommending a change to the "male lineage only" rule .
If this is not a crossroads but an end, then the Meiji system will finally come to an end. This will coincide with Japan's escaping dependency on the United States.