Japan revises law to ensure supply of (male) heirs to the imperial throne
Japan's parliament has passed revisions to the Imperial House Law to address the dwindling number of imperial family members. While the law allows princesses to retain royal status after marriage and permits the adoption of male relatives, it continues to bar women from inheriting the throne.
Why it matters
The legislation highlights the ongoing tension between modernizing the world's oldest hereditary monarchy and maintaining traditional male-only succession rules.
Japan's upper house of parliament has voted to pass controversial revisions to a law governing who can inherit the throne in the world's oldest continuous hereditary monarchy, just days after the lower house of parliament voted it through.
The article balances the government's stated goals with critical perspectives regarding the exclusion of female heirs.
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