Japan's succession crisis creates royal pressure

By Chie Matsumoto Aug 23, 2006, 8:15 GMT

Tokyo - All of Japan is counting down the days to September 6, the due date of Princess Kiko's third child, and perhaps a male heir to the Japanese imperial throne.

A baby boy would ease a succession crisis in the imperial household, and the royal child would be third in line for the crown, behind his father Prince Akishino and uncle Crown Prince Naruhito.

The two princes both have daughters, but Japan's 1947 Imperial House Law only allows males to ascend the throne.

The pressure to deliver a male heir has been blamed for the mental stress afflicting Crown Princess Masako, wife of Crown Prince Naruhito.

The princess, who once received sympathy due to the immense pressure put upon her, is now the recipient of public scorn for holidaying instead of fulfilling her official obligations.

For the first time in Japan's history members of the royal family have traveled abroad for a private retreat, and though the trip to the Netherlands was strongly opposed by the imperial household an exception was made for the sick princess, according to woman's weekly magazine Shukan Josei.

'The Japanese citizens will not be convinced of the need to make such an exception unless Princess Masako returns to the public duties after the retreat,' Akira Hashimoto, Emperor Akihito's close friend, was quoted by Shukan Asahi weekly magazine.

Crown Princess Masako, a former diplomat, who shied away from making public appearances most of last year in Japan, citing her mental stress, has even been criticized for making more of an effort recently.

The media was quick to note that Crown Princess Masako's last public appearances - at a Tokyo zoo, Tokyo Disneyland and attending a ceremony at a kindergarten with her daughter Aiko - were possibly an attempt to divert media attention away from her pregnant sister-in-law.

The differences between Princess Masako, 42, and Princess Kiko, 39, both commoners married into the royal family, have been re-emphasized since the younger princess announced her pregnancy.

Crown Princess Masako is seen as a professional working woman who hasn't been able to adapt to royal life. She is often portrayed as a bird who had her wings clipped and is locked up in a cage.

Pregnant Princess Kiko is considered a model traditional woman, a good wife and mother who finds comfort in her family life, according to AERA magazine.

While Crown Princess Masako is seen in the media as romping around a Dutch palace, the dutiful Princess Kiko is already in the hospital due to a complication. She is expected to receive a Caesarean section for the first time in Japan's royal family history due to placenta previa, where the placenta becomes implanted at a location lower than normal in the uterus.

However, even if Princess Kiko delivers a boy, the pressure is unlikely to relent on Crown princess Masako to produce a male heir to maintain the appropriate succession line.

'Another round of debate is expected to erupt on whether it is proper to shift the imperial succession to the family of Prince Akishino,' even if his third child turns out to be a male, legislator Koichi Kato is quoted in the weekly AERA as saying.