Japan relaxes royal succession rules - but ban on female emperors remains - BBC News

The law now allows the adoption of male distant relatives aged over 15 back into the imperial family.

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Watch: How Japan's royal succession rules are changing

The Japanese parliament has approved a bill to relax imperial succession rules, amid concerns over the dwindling size of the imperial family.

The bill, passed by the upper house on Friday, allows the imperial family to adopt distant male relatives over the age of 15 and lets women keep their royal status after marrying outside the family.

But it does not change the law barring women from ascending the throne despite wide public support for a female emperor, meaning Princess Aiko, the only child of the current emperor, is still not eligible to succeed the throne.