▲ Emperor Naruhito (left) and his family, along with Crown Prince Fumihito Akishinonomiya (the Emperor's younger brother) and his family, wave to the public during a New Year's greeting event on the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on the 2nd.
Moves are emerging, centered around conservative political circles in Japan, to enact or revise laws to punish individuals who defame or criticize the Imperial Family.
Concerns are being raised that this may revive the "Imperial Lese Majesty" law, which disappeared after Japan's defeat in World War II.
The Mainichi Shimbun reported today (the 21st) that voices are growing among conservative lawmakers calling for the prevention of defamation against "patrilineal male" members of the imperial family who could become adopted heirs following the revision of the Imperial House Law, and that momentum is building for related legal adjustments.
The Japanese Diet passed an amendment to the Imperial House Law last month granting imperial succession rights to sons born to patrilineal males adopted into the Imperial Family.
Following this, conservative lawmakers have been vocal about the need for related legal preparations, arguing that false information and malicious defamation could spread on social media (SNS) targeting former imperial relatives who are patrilineal males eligible for adoption.
It is known that there are about six such former imperial patrilineal males who could potentially be adopted into the Imperial Family.
The "Project Team for Protecting Japan's Dignity and National Interest," formed by conservative lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is discussing legal revisions to change the crimes of defamation and insult under the Criminal Code—which are currently prosecuted only upon a complaint—into offenses that can be prosecuted without a formal complaint exclusively regarding members of the Imperial Family.
The rationale is to protect imperial family members so that those willing to be adopted following the revision of the Imperial House Law do not change their minds due to malicious slander and defamation.
Regarding this, Mainichi reported that concerns are also being raised over the potential revival of the "lese majeste" crime, which was abolished following Japan's defeat in the war.
Lese majeste was an offense for disrespectful acts against the Emperor and the Imperial Family that could be prosecuted without a complaint from the victim, and it was abolished under the current post-war pacifist Constitution.
The newspaper explained regarding this crime that "there is criticism that the definition of disrespectful acts was abstract and vague, leading to arbitrary enforcement."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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