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Gov't to seek LDP's go-ahead on bill for female monarchs: Abe+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Jan. 27_(Kyodo) _ The government aims to win approval from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party before submitting a bill to revise the Imperial House Law to pave the way for female monarchs in Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Friday. Abe said the government basically maintains its plan to submit the bill to the ongoing legislative session through June 18 amid growing opposition to the bill within the LDP and among conservative lawmakers. "Because this is an extremely important issue, we want the LDP to deepen discussions...after the government draws up the bill," Abe said. "We would like to submit it to the Diet basically when approved (by the LDP)." Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is also head of the LDP, reiterated his determination Thursday to secure the bill's passage during the current Diet session by meeting with members of the advisory panel that proposed allowing female monarchs. But opposition is growing within the LDP and a nonpartisan group of conservative lawmakers to block the bill, which they regard would break imperial succession from its 2,600-year history of being limited to male-line heirs. The 1947 Imperial House Law allows only males who have emperors on the paternal line to reign, but no male heir has been born into Japan's royal family since 1965, stirring concerns over a possible succession crisis. |