Japan’s Princess Kiko Pregnant, Hoping for Boy
Royal pregnancy raises male heir hopes in Japan (Reuters)
Japan formally announced that the wife of Emperor Akihito’s second son is pregnant with her third child on Friday, raising hopes a male heir to the Chrysanthemum throne may be born for the first time in four decades. Princess Kiko is three months pregnant and in good health, the Imperial Household Agency said in a statement. The agency also urged media to exercise “good sense and restraint” in reporting about the princess, who will turn 40 on September 11 and is due to give birth that same month.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi also welcomed the news. “Three months is a crucial period. I hope she eats well so she can give birth to a healthy baby,” he told reporters.
Initial news of the pregnancy, which came out earlier this month, has halted plans to revise a 1947 law to give women equal rights to inherit the throne, a change which has been seen by many experts as necessary to avoid a succession crisis. Current law limits the imperial succession to males who are descended from an emperor through the paternal line, but experts have said it is difficult to maintain the system given that a system of royal concubines no longer exists.
Opinion polls have shown a majority of the public supports letting women ascend the throne and pass it on to their children, although many also feel there is no need to rush through the legal revisions now that Kiko is pregnant.
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