We Are Delighted With This News!

The news is being flashed that for the first time in history, Japan may have an Empress sitting on the throne. As a history teacher, I cannot tell you how exciting that this makes me feel. According to Reuters:

Princess Aiko, 3, could become next in line to the Japanese throne after her father, Crown Prince Naruhito, under plans now being considered, Japanese media quoted a government source as saying late on Monday.

The question of who is next in line to the Chrysanthemum throne has sparked controversy because of a law which limits accession to males.

No boys have been born into the imperial family since Prince Akishino, the crown prince's younger brother, in 1965.

An advisory panel to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the imperial succession issues is discussing a proposal to revise the Imperial Household Law, which limits accession to the throne to males.

On who would be next in line after the crown prince, Kyodo news agency quoted the government source as saying: "It will go to Princess Aiko."

The crown prince's brother, Akishino, is second in line to the throne under the current law.

The Japanese Imperial line has been unbroken for a thousand years. Should Princess Aiko accede, she will be the first reigning Empress in the history of the Japanese Nation.

Queen Victoria (d.1901) of England styled herself as "The Empress of India," a title which the Indians themselves did not confer upon her. Who would have been the last real Empress? (Not counting Dowagers.)

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