Senior Cabinet ministers Friday joined growing voices within the Liberal Democratic Party expressing concern over a government-sponsored bill to allow females and their descendants to ascend to the Imperial throne.
"Is this a bill we have to desperately push for during (this) ordinary Diet session?" asked Foreign Minister Taro Aso in a Friday morning press briefing, arguing the bill should be put on the back burner.
Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki told a separate news conference, "Whether or not (the bill is debated during) the ongoing Diet session, it is desirable for us to form a national consensus first."