After weeks of foot-dragging by its more conservative members, the Liberal Democratic Party has finally endorsed a bill to amend the Civil Code provision already declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court concerning inheritance rights of heirs born out of wedlock.

During the process, LDP members who opposed the bill — which was proposed by the LDP-led Cabinet in response to the top court decision — had charged that the change would destroy what they viewed as Japan's traditional family system.

Some lawmakers quoted in the media even suggested that they might defy the ruling by the nation's top judicial authority if it appeared to conflict with their own values.