TOKYO, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Japan has formed a panel to decide whether or not a woman could be allowed to sit on the Chrysanthemum Throne in the absence of a male heir.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda Monday announced the formation of the panel, comprising 10 academics and legal experts including Sadako Ogata, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency; Takeshi Sasaki, president of the University of Tokyo; and Itsuo Sonobe, a former Supreme Court judge, reported Asahi Shimbun Tuesday.
The panel will sit for about a year and then issue its recommendations on revising the Imperial House Law, which currently allows only for male heirs in the line of succession.
Prince Fumihito, 39, is the last male born into the imperial family. He is the second son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko and currently is second in line to succeed the emperor after Crown Prince Naruhito. Naruhito's daughter, Aiko, 3, is the only child of Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako.
