Mar 19 (Japan Times) - The government will soon start discussing how to achieve a stable Imperial succession, including the creation of female branches of the royal family.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a Diet committee session Monday that the government will study whether to allow female members to remain in the Imperial family even when they marry commoners.
The process will start immediately after Crown Prince Naruhito succeeds Emperor Akihito on May 1, he said.
The Imperial House Law stipulates that only males can ascend the throne and requires women marrying outside the Imperial family to abandon their royal status.
The government has held discussions in the past on whether a female member can ascend the throne, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been reluctant about changing the law to allow female monarchs.
The Emperor, who is 85 years old, will be Japan’s first living monarch in around two centuries to abdicate. The date has been set for April 30.
