Japan's parliament has approved revisions to the Imperial House Law for the first time since 1947, introducing measures to address the shrinking size of the imperial family while leaving the male-only succession system unchanged.

The changes, approved by the House of Councillors, allow the imperial family to adopt unmarried male descendants of 11 former imperial branches that lost their royal status under post-war reforms in 1947. The move is intended to increase the number of working royals as the imperial family's membership continues to decline.

The original Imperial House Law took effect during the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II. As part of those reforms, 51 members of the 11 collateral imperial branches gave up their royal status and became ordinary citizens.

Under the revised legislation, unmarried male descendants from those branches will now be eligible to join the current 16-member household.

Female royals who marry commoners will also be allowed to retain their status, although their spouses and children will remain ordinary citizens. The revisions do not address the long-debated issue of female succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

The law continues to uphold succession through the male line, reflecting the position long backed by the Japanese government and the ruling parties. (ILKHA)