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Son rises in Japan
Japan's Princess Kiko gave birth to a boy on Wedneday, the first imperial male heir to be born in more than four decades and the answer to the prayers of conservatives keen to keep women off the ancient throne.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 September 7, 2006
Japan's Princess Kiko gave birth to a boy on Wedneday, the first imperial male heir to be born in more than four decades and the answer to the prayers of conservatives keen to keep women off the ancient throne.
The birth will scuttle for now a plan to let women ascend the throne, an idea opposed by traditionalists eager to preserve a practice they say stretches back more than 2,000 years.
That would disappoint many Japanese, most of whom favour giving women equal rights to the throne.
Television programmes flashed the news that a male heir the third in line after his uncle and father had been born, although tabloid media had forecast weeks earlier that the baby was a boy.
Newspapers issued extra editions, eagerly snapped up on the street, to announce the arrival of the emperor's first grandson.
Royal fans waving Japanese flags and shouting "Congratulations" greeted Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, as the beaming grandparents left a hotel in Sapporo, northern Japan, where they are on an official visit.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, a conservative expected to become Japan's prime minister this month, welcomed the birth.
"It's a refreshing feeling that reminds us of a clear autumn sky," he told reporters. Asked about succession law reform, he added: "It is important for us to discuss it calmly, carefully and firmly."
An Imperial Household Agency official told reporters Kiko had given birth by a Caesarean operation to the 2.558kg boy at 8.27am (3.27am UAE time).
He said both Kiko, 39, and the baby were doing well.
No imperial boys had been born since the baby's father, Prince Akishino, in 1965, raising the possibility of a succession crisis. Crown Prince Naruhito, 46, and Crown Princess Masako, 42 have one child, 4-year-old Princess Aiko.
Naruhito congratulated his brother, the Imperial Household Agency said.
"Congratulations on a safe delivery," the agency quoted him and Masako as saying in a message. "Please take care of your own health as well as that of the young prince."
Ceremonies around the birth include the laying of a tiny sword near the baby's pillow by his father to ward off demons.
Japanese emperors have not been worshipped as gods since Akihito's father, Hirohito renounced his divinity after Japan's defeat in Second World War, and have no political authority.
But the monarchy remains rich with symbolism and ritual. Near Tokyo's Gakushuin University, where Akishino and Kiko met, a dance troupe performed, carp streamers flew in honour of the infant boy, and locals toasted the baby with sake rice wine.
"It's good that a boy was born so that the royal family could keep its male lineage. I'm happy that Japan's tradition has been maintained," said Tadayuki Aman, a 77-year-old doctor.
The monarchy is dear to the hearts of nationalists and about 70 members of one group gathered near Tokyo's imperial palace to sing the national anthem and shout "Banzai" (Long Life) to the infant.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had planned to revise the law to let women ascend the throne but Kiko's pregnancy stalled that proposal, which would have cleared the way for Aiko to become Japan's first reigning empress since the 18th century.
"Other countries around the world have female monarchs. Japan should also change with the times," said Masashi Yamaguchi, a 25-year-old IT engineer.
Experts agree change to the rules of succession will be needed eventually since ensuring male heirs is difficult without royal concubines. That practice ended when the previous emperor, Hirohito, refused to take one. "The whole question of revising the law still needs to be discussed, but now that a boy's been born, we have time," said Tokyo Women's University lecturer Midori Watanabe.
The birth is the latest chapter in a drama that began more than two years ago when Masako, a Harvard-educated former diplomat, developed a mental illness caused by the stress of rigid royal life, including pressure to bear a son. Some Masako fans hoped the baby's birth would ease her plight.
Rules of succession: A man's world
- Belgium: Since 1991, women have had the same rights as men to accede to the throne.
- Britain: The system discriminates in favour of males via the rule of male primogeniture. This means that the eldest legitimate son of the monarch succeeds the throne; it only passes to a daughter if there is no son.
- Denmark: Succession is by male primogeniture, as in Britain.
- Japan: Although Japan has had a total of eight reigning empresses in its long history, they were always an exception. A rule of strict male primogeniture was imposed in the late 19th century.
- Jordan: Succession is by the male line only, but the king has the power to designate his successor.
- The Netherlands: The eldest child of the monarch succeeds to the throne, independently of sex. The line of succession is laid down in the constitution, and can be changed by parliament.
- Saudi Arabia: The throne must pass to a male member of the royal family, but the crown prince is chosen rather than determined by a strict order of succession.
- Spain: Succession is still via male primogeniture, and although the government has talked of changing the law, any change would only affect future generations.
- Sweden: In 1980 Sweden abolished the ancient system of strict male primogeniture, giving equal rights to male and female heirs.
- Thailand: The succession goes to the monarch's eldest son, but if there is no male heir a princess may succeed subject to parliamentary approval.
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