Japan's government plans to cautiously proceed with a proposal to revise the Imperial Household Law to allow women to retain their imperial status even after marriage.

Under the current law, women members of the imperial family must abandon their status upon marriage outside the family.

The head of the Imperial Household Agency, Shingo Haketa, reportedly expressed concern about a possible decrease in the number of imperial family members under the current law when he met Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda last month.

The imperial family consists of Emperor Akihito and 22 other people. 15 of the 22 are women. Six of the 8 unmarried women, children or grandchildren of the Emperor, have come of age.

Under the current law, 5-year-old Prince Hisahito is the only grandchild of the Emperor eligible to assume the throne. Prince Hisahito's father is Prince Akishino, who is the younger brother of the Crown Prince.

The government is currently considering the creation of houses headed by married women in the imperial family. It says that maintaining a stable imperial succession is a fundamental issue for the nation.

On Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters that the issue of law revision cannot be left unattended but at the same time, it does not need to be hastily discussed.

Many figures in the Noda administration say public opinion on the issue is divided and that the conflicting opinions need to be fully taken into account before deciding when to revise the law.

Source: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20111126_10.html

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