Japanese monarchy by adoption

Japan will consider allowing the country's royal family to adopt a male in a bid to avert a possible heir crisis in the world's oldest monarchy, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper said yesterday, quoting imperial sources.

Japan's imperial household law only allows a man to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, but no boy has been born to the Japanese royal family since Prince Akishino in 1965.

If no boys are born in the future to royal women, the Japanese imperial family will theoretically become extinct.

To avert a possible heir crisis, the paper said the Government would consider adopting a male from former royal members who lost imperial titles after World War II.

A government panel of experts, tasked with reviewing the royal succession, will hold its first meeting tomorrow. The panel is set to submit a report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi later this year.