Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that giving Imperial family status to those in collateral branches of the family should be considered to sustain male-dominated succession in the face of the dwindling size of the world's longest hereditary monarchy.

Imperial succession is an "extremely important issue related to the foundation of this nation and I believe it's necessary to deal with it carefully and thoroughly," Abe told the Lower House Budget Committee.

A total of 11 collateral branches departed from the Imperial family in 1947.