The government said Monday it will set up an advisory panel next month to discuss revising the Imperial Household Law with an eye to allowing a female ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
The Constitution says the Imperial Throne "shall be dynastic," while Article 1 of the Imperial House Law stipulates that only a male of the direct male line of the Imperial family can be the reigning monarch.
But for nearly 40 years, only female babies have been born to the Imperial family -- a situation that has deepened concern over the future of the emperor system.