A long-simmering dispute over the prospect of putting a woman on Japan’s Chrysanthemum throne is likely to be rekindled on Tuesday when Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, cousin of Emperor Akihito, criticises what he says is a rush to destroy Japan’s male imperial line.

Reacting to the imminent submission of a bill to parliament that will allow female emperors, Prince Tomohito lays out his objections in an article in the weekly Bungei Shunju entitled: “Weight of the emperor’s blood – why I am opposed to a female-line emperor.”