The Japanese government decided Monday to look at allowing a female to ascend the throne of the world's oldest royal line in a move that could ease stress on the crown princess to produce a male heir.
A group of experts will hold a first meeting in January on changing royal succession rules and submit a report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the fall, government spokesman Hiroyuki Hosoda said.
"Under the Japanese constitution, the emperor is a symbol of Japan and the Japanese people. Ensuring a stable royal succession is a matter of national importance," the Chief Cabinet Secretary told a news conference.
The committee - which includes eight men and two women - is made up of professors and prominent personalities including Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of Japan's largest company Toyota Motor Corp, and Sadako Ogata, the former UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
No boy has been born to the royal family since Prince Akishino in 1965, potentially spelling crisis for the succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Royal watchers believe the pressure to produce a male heir has put stress on Princess Masako, 41, who withdrew from public events in early December last year.
Polls have indicated most Japanese support having a female monarch amid widespread sympathy for Masako, who left a promising diplomatic career to marry Crown Prince Naruhito.
Masako, who is a Harvard graduate and speaks four languages, gave up a promising diplomatic career to marry Crown Prince Naruhito, who is purported to have promised her breathing space.
The crown prince took the unprecedented step in May of going public with his concerns, accusing royal minders of repressing Masako's career and personality.
Emperor Akihito, in remarks last week on his birthday, said he was pained and confused by his eldest son's decision to air his grievances publicly.
The only child of Masako and Naruhito is Princess Aiko, who turned three on December 1.
Japan's last woman monarch was Go-Sakuramachi who reigned from 1762 to 1771 but the 1948 Imperial Household Law bars women from ascending the throne.
Amending the law would require an act of parliament.
Crown Prince Naruhito's younger and only brother Prince Akishino was the last boy to have been born into the royal family in 1965. Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko, have two daughters.
Princess Kikuko, who was laid to rest Sunday at age 92, in early 2002 wrote a magazine article supporting female succession, citing British royal families that had thrived under sovereign queens.
"Like the Elizabethan and Victorian eras in Britain, there were many examples in foreign countries where a nation thrived under the rule of a queen," wrote Kikuko.
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