By NEN SATOMI/ Staff Writer
January 30, 2025 at 16:01 JST
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women examines Japan's progress on a range of issues at the European Headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on Oct. 17, 2024. (Mizuho Morioka)
The government will ensure that Japan's voluntary contributions no longer fund a U.N. committee dedicated to battling discrimination against women.
This in protest of the panel's recommendation to revise Japan’s male-only imperial succession law, the Foreign Ministry said on Jan. 29.
Toshihiro Kitamura, press secretary at the Foreign Ministry, said at a news conference that the ministry had informed the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that Japan’s contributions to the OHCHR will exclude funding for the activities of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The unusual step comes in response to the committee’s recommendation in October last year to amend the Imperial House Law, which stipulates that only males of the patrilineal lineage can succeed to the throne.
According to the ministry, Japan provides annual contributions to the OHCHR.
On Jan. 27, the government informed the OHCHR that Japan’s contributions should not be used for CEDAW’s activities.
Kitamura said that Japan has contributed about 20 million yen ($130,000) or 30 million yen annually to the U.N. human rights office, based on the initial budget.
However, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that none of Japan’s contributions had actually been used for CEDAW since 2005.
“Ensuring that not even a portion of Japan’s contributions is used for the committee will clarify the government’s position,” Kitamura said.
The ministry also canceled a planned visit to Japan by CEDAW members this fiscal year.
Regarding the committee’s recommendation, the Japanese government maintains that since eligibility for the Chrysanthemum Throne is not a basic human right, limiting imperial succession to males of the patrilineal lineage under the Imperial House Law does not constitute discrimination against women.
It also argues that as the imperial succession system is fundamental to the nation, taking up the matter in light of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is not appropriate.
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