JAPAN moved a step closer yesterday to overturning a centuries-old imperial tradition, when a government advisory panel said it would recommend allowing women to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

If the recommendation becomes law, it would resolve a looming succession crisis. Emperor Akihito is aged 71, and while he has two sons, no boys have been born into the Royal Family in 40 years. At present only males can ascend the throne. “We agreed that from next meeting we will proceed with putting together a report that recommends expanding imperial succession to include females and their descendants,” Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, the head of the advisory panel to Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime Minister, told a news conference.

If the rules are changed, Princess Aiko, Emperor Akihito’s three-year-old granddaughter, could one day become reigning empress. Japan’s last reigning empress was Go-Sakuramachi, who abdicated in 1771.

A change in the law might provide welcome relief for Princess Aiko’s mother, Crown Princess Masako, the wife of Crown Prince Naruhito, the heir to the throne. Princess Masako, 41, a Harvard-educated former diplomat, has been absent from the public eye for the past two years, suffering from what officials said was a mental disorder caused by the stress of adapting to palace life. Commentators say that pressure to produce a male heir is one likely cause of her illness.

Mr Koizumi said that the Government was considering submitting a Bill to parliament next year to revise the 1947 Imperial Household Law.

The report is expected late next month after the wedding of Emperor Akihito’s only daughter, Princess Sayako, who will then lose her title.

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