Japan changes rules to save shrinking monarchy, but bars female emperors

Japan’s parliament approved on Friday a revised Imperial House Law to address the issue of the shrinking royal family, while retaining the long-standing male-only succession system, despite public support for female emperors.The first substantive revision to the 1947 law introduced two changes – permitting the adoption of males aged 15 and over from former branch families descended from emperors through the male line and allowing female members to retain their imperial status even after marrying commoners.Despite the historic changes to the world’s oldest hereditary monarchy, the conservative ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has faced criticism from opposition lawmakers for insufficient parliamentary deliberations.