If the panel goes into it, it will inevitably have to discuss the issues of allowing women and males of the female line to become the emperor. Such issues will be too heavy to tackle at this stage.

Actually, for a country with leadership famed for always "considering" and rarely "doing", they've now reached a new low by not even allowing the concept of considering.

Yes, we can't even consider a woman as emperor since our feeble little outdated minds will explode!

Why should any discussion be too heavy to be had? You should be able to discuss anything.

So there is quite a few years of useless meetings admitted too. The government and bureaucrats have the mental functions of a dead rat floating in a sewer of their own making.

God, who cares? We all know they won't do anything.

If the panel goes into it, it will inevitably have to discuss the issues of allowing women and males of the female line to become the emperor.

This implies another government panel that will create a non-existent problem and try to solve it through various surveys, surveys of surveys, and on and on. Huge amounts of money will be put into this. And still it doesn't come to some sort of foregone conclusion. Everybody knows how it will turn out. Because everybody knows what the composition of that panel will be - geronts in their 80s.

They've discussed it so many times. At least 4 times in the last 15 years or so that I can remember. Always with the same result.

Such issues will be too heavy to tackle at this stage.

No, it won't be a problem. Nothing will change, the spinning of the globe will not stop. Subway service will not be delayed. The imperial family has no right here, no decision in politics. It's a symbol and a symbol only. They do what the government tells them to do. Remember what happened when Emperor Showa died? Just the way they completely disrespected his funeral as a person (I'm not talking about his past or life as Emperor now) and his family had no say in it.

This has been going on for years and will never end, all for a 1 second obvious decision of allowing Empressess and Emperors and just go with a first born. Just how long can they drag on this ridiculous circus?

Let's see. Generalising like crazy here (and I know plenty of counterexamples), but:

Japanese men: monolingual (see: most of the cabinet, by all accounts) workaholics with little to no knowledge of, or interest in, the outside world (meaning anything that's not related to their job)

Japanese women: often able to speak another language, well-traveled, and (certainly when compared to the men) intellectually curious.

Yeah. We definitely don't want our country's image represented by women, do we?

Just kick the can down the road for another 100 years while Japan sinks lower and lower in gender equality rankings. Well done, Japan.

Why? What’s the big deal?