Japan to Hold Off Decision on Female Imperial Branches

November 5, 2018

Tokyo--The Japanese government plans to hold off a decision on whether to allow female members of the Imperial Family to establish branches of the family after marriages, informed sources said.

The government will not launch in-depth discussions on the matter at least until after Crown Prince Naruhito accedes to the throne on May 1 next year, the sources said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament on Tuesday that there are many different opinions about the proposal to allow the creation of female Imperial branches.

"A full analysis and consideration as well as careful procedures are needed to build a national consensus," Abe said.

The Imperial House Law stipulates that women in the Imperial Family are stripped of their family membership after marrying men from outside the family.

The proposal about the creation of female Imperial branches, designed to allow princesses to remain in the family after marriages, reflects concern about the shrinking family membership.

Princess Ayako, the third daughter of the late Prince Takamado, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, left the Imperial Family after marrying a commoner on Monday.

Abe's cautious stance over the proposal comes as conservatives, his main support base, are worried that establishing such branches will eventually allow female

Imperial Family members or people on the maternal Imperial bloodline to accede to the throne.

A resolution attached to a law on Emperor Akihito's abdication enacted in June last year calls on the government to deliberate the proposed creation of female Imperial branches.

But the dominant view within the government is that it is difficult to reach a national consensus on the matter, the sources said.

"There is no rush to reach a conclusion," one of the sources said, adding that the government will instead focus on preparations for Emperor Akihito's abdication on April 30 next year and Crown Prince Naruhito's accession to the throne the following day. Jiji Press