TOKYO - Most of the major ruling and opposition parties on Monday showed support for a draft proposal by Japan's lower and upper house speakers for a law revision to maintain the number of imperial family members, amid concerns over a stable imperial succession.
At a meeting of all 13 political parties and groups from parliament, seven including the ruling Liberal Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi "generally agreed" on the proposal, House of Representatives Speaker Eisuke Mori told a press conference.
While the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition party in the House of Councillors, remains undecided, only some small opposition forces are against the "consensus of the legislature" draft, meaning the legislation will likely be realized.
Mori, a veteran LDP lawmaker, said he aims to finalize the draft, compiled last Friday after hearing views from all parties, at the next meeting on Wednesday toward the goal of enacting a bill during the current parliamentary session scheduled to end on July 17.
The two main revisions proposed in the draft are allowing female members to retain their imperial status even after marrying commoners and permitting the imperial family to adopt men from 11 former branch families.
Under the current 1947 Imperial House Law, only a male who has an emperor on his father's side can succeed the Chrysanthemum Throne and female members lose their imperial status upon marriage.
Both the number of eligible successors and family members are decreasing. Currently, there are only three heirs to Emperor Naruhito, 66 -- his younger brother Crown Prince Fumihito, 60, his nephew Prince Hisahito, 19, and his uncle Prince Hitachi, 90.
The draft says the wishes of female imperial family members on whether to retain or relinquish their status after marriage should be respected, while leaving open the issue of whether their husbands and children would also obtain imperial status.
It also says that the adoption of male members of former branch families, which is currently prohibited, would be reviewed at fixed intervals if necessary, and that adopted sons would be ineligible to become an emperor.
The two proposals were originally put forward in 2021 by a government expert panel, which did not touch on whether to allow women or those with matrilineal lineage to an emperor to ascend the throne, saying it would be premature to explore the issue.
