Japan Institute for National Fundamentals

　
Japan’s foundation lies in the imperial family. The imperial family has maintained the male-line imperial lineage for nearly 2,700 years and now it has the 126th emperor. During Japan’s historical milestones such as the Meiji Restoration and during national crises such the defeat in World War II and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the imperial family served as the nation’s central unifying force, offering encouragement and inspiring people to move forward.

In fact, those who understand the significance of Japan’s imperial family more deeply than the modern Japanese may be the Chinese. That is why they are stepping up disinformation operations to divide Japanese public opinion over the imperial family as the cornerstone of the nation’s stability and to undermine the family. The online space is full of opinions calling for Emperor Naruhito’s daughter Princess Aiko’s accession to the imperial throne, while slandering Crown Prince Fumihito, the emperor’s younger brother, along with his son Prince Hisahito, who are in the imperial succession line under the current law. This trend is also evident in newspapers and magazines.

Disinformation videos originating from Hong Kong

One example is the videos titled “The Charm of Japan” that are spreading on Facebook and YouTube. The videos, filled with lies and malice, invariably pair unreserved praise for Emperor Naruhito and his family with extreme denigration of Crown Prince Fumihito and his family, thereby fueling division in public opinion.

Jun Osawa, who is a senior fellow at the Nakasone Peace Institute and a leading cyber expert, tracked down accounts and comments for the videos and found that all of them were from Hong Kong. He concluded that the videos represent China’s disinformation operations.

He said, “Their aim is to destroy the stability of an ‘enemy society,’ namely Japan. As evidence that they have studied Japan very well, they have set their sights on the imperial family. Japan is now working on revising the Imperial House Law. China might have chosen to take advantage of the controversial revision to divide Japan’s public opinion over Princess Aiko and Prince Hisahito.”

Hitoshi Nitta, a special professor at Kogakkan University, points out that China, which is well aware of its Dynastic Revolution’s miserableness and the chaos brought to the country, is trying to trigger a Japanese version of the Dynastic Revolution as the most powerful means to weaken Japan.

The first step they aim for in pursuing that goal is to end the tradition of the male-line male’s succession to the imperial throne.

In the Dynastic Revolution, a dynasty is replaced by another as the emperor’s surname changes and the male-lineage imperial succession ends. When the male lineage changes, everything changes with it: the previous dynasty collapses and a new one emerges, only to perish after several generations.

China, which understands the weakening of the nation through the Dynastic Revolution, may instinctively know that the fastest way to destroy Japan is to end the traditional male imperial lineage and trigger a Japanese-version Dynastic Revolution to break down the foundation of Japan as a peaceful, stable country.

Aiming to end Japan’s imperial lineage

Suppose Princess Aiko will become emperor. Children born through her marriage with a commoner man will be female-line imperial family members, regardless of gender. If any of them accedes to the imperial throne, a female-line emperor will be realized and the male-line imperial lineage will end, leading to a Japanese version of the Dynastic Revolution.

Japan should expedite all legislative actions to avoid being manipulated by China’s disinformation operations. At the same time, it is important for the Japanese people to recognize that Chinese aim is to destroy Japan’s national character and weaken Japan, and that they do not allow themselves to be deceived.

Yoshiko Sakurai is President, Japan Institute for National Fundamentals.