A source in the government said Saturday that in 2014 a plan was proposed by the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe which did not favor creating female branches of the Imperial family, but which would instead allow females to continue to take part in official activities.
Abe’s administration drew up the draft Cabinet proposal on the female members who, under current law, have to leave the Imperial family following a marriage to a commoner. Debate on allowing them to remain princesses and stay in the Imperial family comes against the backdrop of a decline in the number of Imperial family members.
Only males can ascend Japan’s Chrysanthemum throne.