Japan Urges U.N. Panel to Withdraw Call for Imperial Law Review

Tokyo, Oct. 30 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi urged a U.N. panel on Wednesday to withdraw its call for a revision of Japan's Imperial House Law.

The move came after the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women released a report including the recommendation.

The recommendation was "very regrettable," Hayashi told a press conference. "We strongly protested to the committee and demanded the deletion (of the recommendation)," the top government spokesman added.

In the report, the U.N. panel said the Japanese law, which allows only male descendants from the paternal line of the Imperial Family to become Emperor, is "contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention (on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women)."

"Succession to the Imperial throne is a matter that affects the foundations of the nation, and it is inappropriate for the committee to take up the Imperial House Law in light of the purpose of the convention," Hayashi said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]