Chrysanthemum taboo

Lore & Background

Before the end of World War II, criticisms of the Emperor were severely punished under the old Penal Code as lèse-majesté, and the Peace Preservation Law of 1925 further punished such criticisms. After the war, freedom of speech was recognized under Article 21 of the Japanese Constitution, and the old Penal Code was abolished by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, making criticism legally permissible and more socially tolerated. However, in the 1960s, right-wing organizations began using threats, intimidation, and violence to roll back this transition, most notably in the Shimanaka incident of 1961, when a right-wing youth attempted to assassinate the publisher of the magazine Chūō Kōron for publishing a satirical story depicting the beheading of the Emperor and Empress.

Reader's Guide

The chrysanthemum taboo represents a persistent form of self-censorship in Japanese media and society, rooted in prewar legal suppression and postwar right-wing intimidation. The Shimanaka incident of 1961 led media companies to promise 'self-regulation,' and the Japanese Diet's exploration of reviving lèse-majesté laws reinforced this unwritten taboo. Broadcast media have explicit standards, such as those of the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association, which state that broadcasters will not treat the country in a way that undermines the authority of its institutions, including the Emperor. Public awareness of the taboo was evident in 1988, when Emperor Hirohito's hospitalization led to voluntary restraint in entertainment programming and event cancellations, while foreign criticism provoked official complaints. In 2006 and 2007, online criticism and publisher decisions further demonstrated the taboo's ongoing influence, as seen in the suppression of a book about Princess Masako and the backlash against a reporter critical of imperial visits.

Did You Know?

• The term 'chrysanthemum taboo' originated in the 1960s from the imperial chrysanthemum crest.
• In the Shimanaka incident of 1961, a right-wing youth attempted to assassinate the publisher of Chūō Kōron for publishing a satirical story about the Emperor and Empress being beheaded.
• In 1988, during Emperor Hirohito's hospitalization, broadcast media voluntarily refrained from airing entertainment programs and carefully considered commercial wording.
• In 2007, Kodansha decided not to publish a Japanese translation of Ben Hills' book Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne, citing the author's attitude and potential consequences.

Legal Foundations and the Post-War Shift

The chrysanthemum taboo did not emerge from a single moment but grew out of layered legal and social pressure spanning multiple eras. During the Meiji, Taishō, and Shōwa periods, the old Penal Code criminalized any criticism of the Emperor or the imperial system as lèse-majesté, carrying severe punishment. In 1925, the Peace Preservation Law added another layer of state enforcement against dissent. Beyond the courtroom, Japanese society itself exerted intense social pressure to silence anyone who questioned the throne. The post-war period brought a dramatic legal reversal: Article 21 of the new Japanese Constitution enshrined freedom of speech, and the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers abolished the old Penal Code entirely. With lèse-majesté no longer a crime, criticism of the Emperor technically became permissible. Yet the social weight of the taboo proved far more durable than the statute that had once enforced it, setting the stage for the unwritten rules that would define the next several decades of Japanese public discourse.

The 1960s Backlash and the Birth of Self-Regulation

Although the law no longer punished criticism of the throne, the 1960s saw a violent attempt to restore the old order. Right-wing organizations resorted to threats, intimidation, and physical attacks to silence journalists and publishers. The most infamous episode came in 1961, when a right-wing youth tried to assassinate the publisher of Chūō Kōron after the magazine ran a satirical short story depicting the Emperor and Empress being beheaded. The magazine quickly retracted the piece and pledged to self-regulate. Around the same time, the Japanese Diet began exploring the revival of the prewar lèse-majesté statute, prompting other media outlets to make similar pledges. In broadcast, the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association's standards explicitly stated that content must not undermine the authority of national institutions, naming the Emperor as the symbol of the nation. Though no written rules governed print media, the unwritten understanding became so pervasive that critical coverage of the imperial family was effectively treated as taboo across Japanese mass media.

The 1988 Hospitalization and International Spotlight

The taboo became impossible to ignore in 1988, when Emperor Hirohito was hospitalized. Japanese broadcast media voluntarily pulled entertainment programming and carefully vetted commercial language out of deference to his declining health. Sports festivals and public events similarly toned down their celebrations. The situation drew sharp international attention: the British tabloid The Sun ran headlines calling Hirohito truly evil and urging him to rot in hell, while the Daily Star labeled him the sinking sun of evil and drew a comparison to Adolf Hitler. Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged formal complaints through the British Embassy, and Liberal Democratic Party executive Michio Watanabe threatened to banish any foreign correspondent who remained in the country. Yet when it emerged that Crown Prince Akihito himself was troubled by the exaggerated reactions and reportedly did not want to see them, the media appeared to relax its self-imposed restraint. The episode laid bare how the taboo operated as a social reflex rather than a legal mandate, and how even the Emperor's own family could influence its intensity.

Contemporary Pressures and the Kodansha Controversy

The chrysanthemum taboo persists well into the twenty-first century, enforced not by statute but by social and institutional pressure. In 2006, blogger Hirotada Ototake faced a wave of online attacks after posting a cynical critique of the celebrations surrounding Prince Hisahito's birth, and he ultimately issued an apology. That same year, a Mainichi Shimbun reporter who wrote negatively about an imperial visit to Saga Prefecture was subjected to criticism from numerous organizations, much of it rooted in the reporter's status as a Korean resident of Japan, leading the newspaper to issue a serious internal warning. The most high-profile modern test came in February 2007, when Kodansha refused to publish a Japanese translation of Ben Hills' book Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Imperial Household Agency had complained to Hills, who responded that the Japanese government was afraid of criticism from its own people. Kodansha cited the author's problematic attitude and fear of consequences. In August 2007, publisher Daisanshokan stepped in, stating there was no particular reason for not publishing and committed to releasing a corrected edition.