Thank you for sharing this. It is interesting to hear from someone (Kobayashi Yoshinori) who has been on both sides of this issue.
Takamori Akinori, a researcher on imperial matters and Shintō religious issues who has long been an opinion leader in this area [...] takes pains to distance his stance from that of people who have made statements against Prince Akishino and his branch of the family. “There are those who continue to heartlessly bash the Akishino household. I must stress that those of us who support a female emperor have nothing in common with those who speak ill of members of the imperial family, a most regrettable practice.”
Very interesting. I hadn't really thought about this before, but is the current bashing of the Akishino family making it even more tricky for politicians and opinion leaders to openly back any reform to the Imperial House Law that would alter Aiko's status? I wonder if even a limited reform, removing the rule that will oblige Aiko to leave the imperial family if she marries, could be interpreted as a rebuke to Hisahito in the eyes of Akishino-family-haters (something like "That spoiled Akishino boy won't be able to keep the monarchy going for another generation unless perfect dutiful Aiko stays around to do all the real work"). If so, one more reason for mainstream politicians, who I assume would prefer not to be dragged into Twitter arguments, to steer clear of discussing the imperial family at all.
In the fall of 2009, when Princess Aiko was seven years old and Prince Hisahito just three, Emperor (now Emperor Emeritus) Akihito made a remarkable statement at a press conference marking the twentieth anniversary of his accession to the throne: “ I think the issues concerning the system of imperial succession should be left to the deliberation in the Diet, but concerning the ideal role of the imperial family in the future, I think it is important that the views of the Crown Prince and Prince Akishino, who supports him, are respected.”
Both Kobayashi and Takamori believe that this means that the family has already reached a conclusion regarding the next Emperor. Both also believe that it is significant that Prince Akishino was officially designated as kōshi (the presumptive heir) in Japanese, rather than kōtaishi (crown prince). They note that when Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa) ascended to the throne in 1926, his younger brother, Prince Chichibu, was designated the kōshi as well. Prince Chichibu later lost this title and became second in line to the throne when Akihito, the future emperor, was made crown prince.
Those deductions are a bit of a stretch, surely?
Then-Emperor Akihito's statement that his sons' views on "the ideal role of the imperial family in the future" should be respected seems more relevant to the also controversial issues of allowing emperors to abdicate when they are no longer able to fulfill their duties, or allowing Hisahito's sisters and cousins to remain in the imperial family so that it can continue its current workload into the future. The issue of designating an emperor does not really involve the entire imperial family or its role.
Prince Akishino's title as heir to the throne was decided by the government of Abe Shinzo, who we know was opposed to female emperors. And wouldn't it have been a bit odd for him to be titled kōtaishi, since it literally translates to "grand imperial son" and he is not the son of the emperor?
In Princess Aiko as Emperor, Kobayashi sketched out an interesting scene from a series of monthly three-way meetings beginning in 2012 at the Imperial Palace. This meetings were between the emperor (now Emperor Emeritus Akihito), the crown prince (now Emperor Naruhito), and Prince Akishino, with the grand steward of the Imperial Household Agency also in attendance. In June 2013, Kobayashi received a sudden call from the Imperial Household Agency. He then met with the grand steward and other officials at a certain location in Tokyo.
It was then that Kobayashi learned that Imperial Household Agency officials were reading his manga Tennō ron (A Treatise on the Emperor), which gave him a “strange sensation.” Kobayashi says: “At that time, I became 100 percent convinced of the imperial couple’s intentions. As I left the room, I was handed a book written by Empress [now Empress Emerita] Michiko.” Kobayashi writes in Princess Aiko as Emperor that “there was no verbal agreement to not divulge the details of that day’s conversation,” although in the manga itself a caricature of a male lineage advocate brushes this off as “probably a made-up story.”
While Kobayashi does not reveal much about the conversation, the book he was given is a collection of Empress Michiko’s officially written responses and words at press conferences. It includes statements such as, “I believe that the imperial family has coexisted in line with the times, and that in each era, while inheriting past traditions, it has also changed, and thus has reached where it is today.”
I'm not sure how to interpret this anecdote (what does everyone else think?), but I hope he is correct in thinking the imperial family is fine with him sharing this publicly...
Kobayashi says: “The female lineage supporters are only a group of ordinary citizens with no campaign apparatus.” Backed by conservative political organizations, supporters of the male lineage approach, however, “were vocal and well organized, and went around to individual members of the ruling party to pressure them to maintain the male lineage approach. Even if ruling party Diet members are open to the idea of a female emperor, this pressure is slowing down debate on the issue of succession to the throne.”
Exactly. And in contrast, female lineage supporters as a whole simply do not care about the issue very much, so politicians needn't be afraid of angering them if they continue excluding women from the throne.
) 
Thanks for the update!
