The ruling and opposition parties are unlikely to reach an agreement during the current parliamentary session over measures to secure a sufficient number of imperial family members, sources said Wednesday.
This is mainly because the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) is at odds with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and other parties over a proposal to allow female members to retain their imperial family status after getting married to commoners.
Over the proposal, the coalition of the LDP and Komeito, as well as Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Democratic Party for the People in the opposition side, reject the idea of granting imperial family status to the spouses and children of such female members. On the other hand, the CDP seeks discussions on the idea.
The first meeting between the ruling and opposition parties to discuss measures to realize stable imperial succession, spearheaded by Fukushiro Nukaga, speaker of the House of Representatives, was held May 17.
Nukaga proposed holding talks every week to build a consensus before the current parliament session ends on June 23. But the CDP and the Japanese Communist Party opposed, saying that such discussions should not be done hastily.
In order to hold extensive talks, a decision was made after the second meeting, held May 23, for the heads and vice heads of both parliamentary chambers to hear what every political party has to say on the matter.
Very little progress, however, has been made on scheduling, making it highly unlikely that the events will be finished before the end of the parliamentary session.
"We don't have extra time to spare in our parliamentary schedule," a ruling party lawmaker said. "There's no need to rush."