Japan Says No Funds for U.N. Antidiscrimination Body; Committee Called for Change to Imperial House Law

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:04 JST, January 30, 2025

Japan has rebuffed a U.N. committee by demanding that Japan’s contribution to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) not be allocated to the committee, which issued a recommendation that Japan amend its Imperial House Law.

The government did so in protest of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s failure to act on Japan’s request to withdraw the recommendation.

Foreign Press Secretary Toshihiro Kitamura said at a press conference Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry made the notification Monday to the OHCHR, which handles the committee’s administrative affairs.

Japan contributes about ¥20 million to ¥30 million to the OHCHR each year. It has designated that the money be used for activities such as improving the human rights situations in North Korea and Cambodia and eliminating discrimination against people with leprosy.

Since there is a possibility that any surplus contributions may be allocated to the committee at the discretion of the OHCHR, the government has concluded that it is necessary to clarify its position.

The committee recommended in October last year that the Japanese government amend the Imperial House Law, which limits the Imperial succession to male offspring in the male line, to a system that ensures equality of women and men.

“The qualifications for the Imperial throne are not included in basic human rights and do not constitute discrimination against women,” Kitamura said.