MP's Warning Over 'Blue-Eyed Foreigner' On Japanese Throne

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 2-3-2006 | Colin Joyce

[blam]

MP's warning over 'blue-eyed foreigner' on Japanese throne

By Colin Joyce in Tokyo
(Filed: 03/02/2006)

A senior Japanese politician has attacked plans to allow a reigning empress in case the child of "a blue-eyed foreigner" succeeds to the ancient Chrysanthemum Throne.

The remark by an MP and former trade minister, Takeo Hiranuma, highlighted the way conservatives see the emperor as head of the Japanese race and equate national vigour with racial purity.

The government wants to change the law to allow Princess Aiko, the four-year-old granddaughter of Emperor Akihito, to become second in line to the throne.

Polls show overwhelming support for the plan. But determined opposition has emerged, centred on Prince Tomohito, the emperor's cousin and diehard conservatives in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

"If Aiko becomes the reigning empress, and gets involved with a blue-eyed foreigner while studying abroad and marries him, their child may be the emperor. We should never let that happen," Mr Hiranuma said in Tokyo.

Conservatives are particularly hostile to proposals to allow matrilineal succession, which they view as a breach of a 2,000-year-old tradition.

Though Japan has had eight reigning empresses, they were widows or unmarried and served as regents until the throne could revert to a son born through the male line.

Traditionalists believe that holy blood, transmitted from son to son over 125 generations of emperors, is central to the well-being of Japan.

However, all nine children born into the imperial family for 40 years have been girls. Even Japanese in favour of reform are aware that finding a suitable spouse for a future Empress Aiko will be tricky.

Japan has no titled aristocracy and the neutrality of the imperial family means it may be difficult for her to marry the son of a political or business family.

[gogoman]

Regarding the Han, after the period of warring states, everybody left alive pretty much looked like the winners. Under the Mongols additional ethnic varieties were brought to China for a variety of purposes ~ but until then the Chinese had about as much variation as modern Korean-speaking people.

That's BS. It definitely doesn't explain why the Chinese dialects are MUTUALLY UNINTELLIGIBLE with each other. Like pgiani said, people from Jiangsu (Wu) have very dark skin and high noses and a large build, while people from just a little south like Zhejiang (Yue) have much whiter skin and smaller frames. Wu and Yue correspond to historic kingdoms in China.

The Chinese are like Europeans. Chinese are very very diverse in appearance, height, build and skin tone. In the United States, it's less obvious because the emmigrants to the US typically come from one region.

Most Chinese can tell where a Chinese is from just by looking at them.

[muawiyah]

In general I can tell the broad differences as well. On the other hand there was Chou En-Lai. Was he Russian? Was he Chu-chi? Was he Han?

Only his hairdresser knew for sure.

[FreedomCalls]

http://www.alllooksame.com/

Try to guess if these people are Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. It's harder than most people think.

You have to register, but you don't have to use real info.

[gogoman]

It's determining whether they are Chinese or not that's hard, because China is huge and continental, there exists people in China who looks like every Korean and Japanese. Population size and genetic diversity predetermines this.

Currently your best bet is by fashion and behavior, but as China becomes wealthier, it will be harder to tell.