Japan hits back at U.N. panel over imperial law review recommendation
Japan has hit back at a U.N. panel over its recommendation to revise the Imperial House Law by denying it access to the country's voluntary contributions to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Tokyo has excluded the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women from the list of recipients of the funds, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Toshihiro Kitamura told a news conference Wednesday.
The office, which handles affairs related to the panel, was notified of the measure on Monday.
The U.N. committee recommended in a report last October that Japan should revise the Imperial House Law, which allows only male descendants from the paternal line of the imperial family to become emperor.
Tokyo has urged it to withdraw the recommendation, saying that "succession to the imperial throne is a matter affecting the foundations of the nation, and it is inappropriate for the committee to take up the Imperial House Law." The recommendation has not been revoked.
Kitamura said that the measure against the committee "will show the Japanese government's position more clearly."
But he added that the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has not allocated Japanese voluntary contributions to activities related to the committee at least since 2005.
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