Japan's parliament on Friday altered the imperial succession laws, making a change designed to safeguard against the eventuality of the only young male prince left in the family line failing to have a son.
The imperial family household's numbers have famously been dwindling for decades, not least because of rules that exclude all female heirs and their children from the purely patrilineal line of succession.
Opinion polls suggest that the compromise reached by parliament — while endorsed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — is unpopular with much of the wider public, who would rather see Emperor Naruhito's daughter inherit the throne.
Why is this an issue?
Naruhito, a 66-year-old who acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019, and his wife Empress Masako have one child, 24-year-old Princess Aiko. She cannot inherit the throne under the current system.
