"An American woman who helped draft the women's rights articles of the postwar Japanese Constitution says Princess Aiko, the daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako, "has full rights to the throne." Beate Sirota Gordon, a former civilian aide to the supreme commander of the Allied Powers, Gen Douglas MacArthur, suggested in a letter to the New York Times on Thursday that she shares the view of Japanese legal scholars and elected officials that the Imperial House Law, which came into force in 1947, is unconstitutional. The law flouted the postwar Constitution banning discrimination in political matters based on gender and limited the throne to "male offspring," she wrote. (Kyodo News)"
"To the Editor:
In "A Princess's Distress Pierces Japan's Veil of Secrecy" (news article, Aug. 7), you say: "In 2001, Princess Masako gave birth to a girl, Aiko, who according to law cannot ascend the throne."
In fact, there have been a number of Japanese empresses in Japanese history. But the 1889 Meiji Constitution ignored tradition and limited the throne to "male descendants." The 1947 Japanese Constitution states: "Laws shall be enacted from the standpoint of the essential equality of the sexes," and prohibits discrimination in political matters based on gender.
In 1948 the Japanese Parliament passed the Imperial House Law, which flouted the new Constitution and restricted the throne to "male offspring." Among Japanese legal scholars and elected officials, the law is widely considered unconstitutional. Princess Aiko has full rights to the throne.
Beate Sirota Gordon
New York, Aug. 7, 2004
The writer, a civilian aide to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, drafted the women's rights articles of the 1947 Japanese Constitution"