As Japan awaits the long-anticipated birth of a child to the Crown Prince and Princess, debate over revising the law to allow women to assume the Imperial throne remains somewhat subdued.
The prevailing view in political circles seems to be that it would be best not to spoil the royal couple's delight at the birth of their first child -- expected later this month or in early December and more than eight years since their marriage in June 1993 -- by discussing the issue of Imperial succession.
Taro Aso, policy affairs chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, recently said that it is too early to consider revising the inheritance law, which states that a male must sit on the throne, to allow Japan to have a reigning empress.