The Japanese government has responded to a United Nations committee's recommendation to revise a law that limits imperial succession to male offspring in the male line.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women made the recommendation in October last year, urging Japan to ensure gender equality in imperial succession.

The Imperial House Law stipulates that successors to the throne must be males from the male line of the Imperial lineage.

Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Kitamura Toshihiro commented on the issue at a news conference on Wednesday.

He said the law's provision does not constitute discrimination against women because eligibility for the throne is not one of the basic human rights. He added that the matter of imperial succession is fundamental to the state, and that it is inappropriate for the committee to discuss the Imperial House Law.

Kitamura said the government on Monday asked Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, which oversees the committee's operations, not to allocate Japan's voluntary contributions to the committee's activities. He said the government also told the office to cancel a visit to Japan by committee members scheduled for the current fiscal year.

The Foreign Ministry says Japan contributes about 130,000 to 200,000 dollars annually to the OHCHR. But it says these funds have not been used for the committee's activities since at least 2005.

It is unusual for the government to ask that its contributions to the UN not be used for a specific activity.