Tokyo – Princess Kiko is pregnant, the Imperial Household Agency said Tuesday, raising the possibility of the first male heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 40 years.
The announcement came as the government considered a plan to allow a woman to assume the throne for the first time in two centuries in a bid to avert a succession crisis. Kiko’s husband, Prince Akishino, is second in line to the throne.
Agency chief Shingo Haketa said Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were delighted at the news of Kiko’s pregnancy.
The princess had an ultrasound Tuesday morning and felt the fetus move, Kyodo News agency said, adding that she is expected to give birth in September or October. Kyodo cited agency sources it did not identify.
The news prompted applause at a parliamentary committee meeting attended by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi earlier in the day as Japanese media began reporting on the pregnancy hours before the Imperial Household Agency announcement.
“We’d like to celebrate the news with the people,” said Katsuya Okada, a member of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
Kiko, 39, has two daughters, ages 14 and 11. Crown Prince Naruhito, first in line to the throne, has one daughter with his wife, Crown Princess Masako.
Enormous pressures to produce a male heir and adjust to palace life contributed to a stress-induced condition that caused Masako to withdraw from public activities in December 2003.
The lack of a male heir has prompted the government to consider changing a 1947 law so that Naruhito’s 4-year-old daughter, Aiko, could one day take the throne. The law at present allows only males to reign.
Koizumi called for early consideration of the popular measure, despite criticism by conservatives and the new prospect of a male heir being born.
“If we wait, it is uncertain that a boy may or may not be born,” he told lawmakers. “To ensure the stable continuity of Japan’s imperial family, we cannot put the issue off any longer. It is desirable that parliamentary debate is carried out in a calm, careful manner at the earliest opportunity.”
