Tokyo, June 10 (Jiji Press)--Japanese political parties on Wednesday approved a proposal on measures to secure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members as the consensus of the country's legislative branch. The proposal, drawn up by the leaders and vice leaders of both chambers of the Diet, Japan's parliament, on the basis of the two measures in a 2021 report by a government panel of experts, was adopted at the Diet leaders' meeting with political parties and parliamentary groups held at the official residence of the speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower Diet chamber, according to attendees. After the consensus proposal is handed to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the government plans to draw up a bill to revise the Imperial House Law based on the proposal and submit it to the Diet as early as this month after explaining the legislation to the parties. The government aims to get the bill enacted during the current Diet session ending July 17. The proposal, presented by the Diet leaders to political parties and parliamentary groups Monday, says that the principle of Imperial succession from Emperor Naruhito to Crown Prince Akishino and then to his son, Prince Hisahito, "should be firmly maintained." One of the two proposed measures would enable female members of the Imperial Family to retain their Imperial status after marriage. This does not specify whether their spouses and children would be given the status. The other measure would allow the adoption of male members in the paternal line of former Imperial Family branches back into the family. The proposal by the Diet leaders calls for a system to be designed to accept male members in the paternal line of the 11 branches that left the Imperial Family in October 1947. Adoptees would not have the right of succession to the Imperial throne. The government should carefully design the system, including regarding the age of adoptees, the scope of possible adoptive parents and the specific procedures for adoption, the proposal says. The proposal urges the government to advance work on legal steps for the two measures. Political parties have discussed the measures to secure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members based on the government panel's ideas, while putting aside the issue of how to ensure stable Imperial succession. The consensus proposal calls for a supplementary Diet resolution seeking continued discussions on measures for stable Imperial succession. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]