The birth in December 2001 of Princess Aiko, the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito, has generated intense debate over whether the Imperial Household Law should be changed to allow her one day to reign.

A Lower House panel is leaning toward revising the law and plans to solicit opinions from experts before submitting its final recommendations next January, the Mainichi Shimbun said, citing unnamed sources.

The law, which was drawn up in 1889 and survived an overhaul of the Constitution after World War II, dictates that only men can inherit the throne.

However, no boy has been born to the Imperial family since the 1960s.

Polls have consistently shown strong support for a revision to let Aiko take the throne, and governing and opposition lawmakers have voiced tentative support for the change.

Japan last had a reigning empress almost 200 years ago. Eight women have occupied the Chrysanthemum Throne throughout its 1,500 years of documented history.

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 7, 2004
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