TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday rejected criticism that the revised Imperial House Law blocks female succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, saying it is solely intended to secure enough imperial family members.
"Whether to allow a female emperor is an issue related to how the imperial succession should be structured and is not included in the purpose of the revision," Takaichi wrote in a post on X, a day before Prince Hisahito's 20th birthday on Sunday.
The prince is the nephew of Emperor Naruhito and second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
In July, Japan revised the 1947 Imperial House Law to permit the adoption of males from former imperial branch families and enable female members to retain their imperial status even after marrying commoners. The revision retains the long-standing male-only succession system.
Takaichi said the urgent task had been to halt the decline in the number of imperial family members, calling the provision allowing female royals to retain their status after marriage an "extremely important step" toward maintaining the family's size.
Takaichi, who has come under fire for insufficient parliamentary deliberations on the revision, also wrote Saturday that further discussions would be held after the law takes effect on Oct. 24, citing a review clause in its supplementary provisions.
