How far will Japan go to preserve the 2,600-year-old male imperial bloodline?

Japan's imperial family faces a succession crisis that's dividing the nation. According to France 24, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako just wrapped a two-week European tour—and they encountered something notable. Both their Dutch and Belgian hosts have women in line for the throne. Back home, Japan grapples with a different hereditary rule: the imperial line has passed through male heirs alone for twenty-six hundred years without interruption. But with fewer male successors on the horizon, the pressure is mounting. How far will Japan go to break tradition? The nation remains split on whether changing centuries of imperial protocol is the right answer.

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