The government is leaning toward adopting special legislation to enable the abdication of 82-year-old Emperor Akihito before discussing possible amendments to the Imperial House Law, sources said Monday.
Special legislation effective only for the current Emperor would not involve discussions on complicated Imperial House Law amendments, such as whether to set up a permanent abdication system, or whether to allow a married female member to stay within the Imperial family, the sources said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to clarify the planned legislation, telling a regular news conference, "We are now discussing various kinds of things."