Ideas on female royalty solicited

The government will begin interviewing experts in various fields from February on the issue of whether female members of the Imperial family should be allowed to create their own branches of the family so they can retain their royal status after marriage, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Friday.

Following the hearings with experts in fields such as the Imperial institution, religion and history, the Cabinet Secretariat will draft a possible amendment to the Imperial Household Law, he said.