Japan's last reigning empress was Go-Sakuramachi, who died in 1771. The law that prevents women from reigning was only enacted in the postwar era, on May 3, 1947. Still, changing it promises to be ...

A reigning empress rather than a consort is not entirely a new concept for Japan. The last one, Empress Go-Sakuramachi, abdicated in 1771, and in all 10 out of Japan's 125 sovereigns have been women.

And while there have been female emperors in Japanese history, the most recent was Empress Go-Sakuramachi, who ruled from 1762 to 1771, and the relevant laws have since been altered. There has never ...