Japan focuses on royal baby to settle imperial succession

By Chie Matsumoto Sep 4, 2006, 15:43 GMT

Tokyo - The Japanese public is closely watching Princess Kiko, who is expected to have her third child on Wednesday morning, focusing on the key question of the baby's gender.

A boy baby will likely put an end to a heated discussion about how to secure the male line of imperial succession since Japan's imperial family has not had a male child for 40 years.

But the attention and pressure may yet again return to Crown Princess Masako.

As she is the wife of the crown prince and the future empress, it is expected, under proper imperial succession, for Princess Masako to bear a male heir, according to the 1947 Imperial House Law.

The baby, fourth grandchild to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, moved into the public spotlight as soon as the Imperial Household Agency officially announced in February the pregnancy of Princess Kiko, wife of Prince Akishino, the emperor's second son.

The 39-year-old Princess Kiko is 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.

If the baby is a boy, he will succeed the world's oldest monarch after his uncle Crown Prince Naruhito and his father Prince Akishino under the law.

The law only allows males to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, but the Japanese imperial family has not had a male heir since 1965, when Prince Akishino was born.

Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako only have a daughter, 4-year-old Princess Aiko, while Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko have two daughters, 11-year-old Kako and 14-year-old Mako.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is to step down on September 20, began a motion to revise the imperial law to accept female heirs but dropped plans to submit a parliamentary bill in early February.

Conservatives have said that Japan should wait for Prince Akishino's third child before considering the law revision.

Crown Princess Masako is likely to continue to remain the centre of attention and be subjected to pressure to produce a male heir to keep the traditional line of succession.

'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 was quoted in the weekly magazine AERA as saying.

Princess Masako received public sympathy after complaining of suffering from mental illness induced by stress to adapt to the imperial lifestyle and to bear a male heir.

But criticism against the princess heightened when she was made an exception in the imperial family's history to travel overseas for a retreat with her husband and daughter.

Some Japanese media pundits have said Princess Masako should devote more time to fulfilling her imperial duties and that she is spending too much time in recovery from her ailments.

But the royal baby talk does not seem likely to end even after the expected birth on Wednesday. The 42-year-old former diplomat has been quoted by the weekly as saying she wishes to have another baby in the next three years.