Japan is gripped by expectation that the looming crisis over succession to the Chrysanthemum throne could end on Tuesday if the baby to be delivered by caesarean section to Princess Kiko turns out to be a boy.
The wife of the second in line to the throne is due to give birth at a private hospital in Tokyo after doctors decided several weeks ago to plan a caesarean after spotting a minor complication.
A boy would be the first male born into the imperial family since Kiko’s husband, Prince Akishino, in 1965. The dearth of male heirs in a royal lineage that some claim stretches back 2 600 years has taken Japan to the brink of a constitutional crisis. Under the 1947 succession law, only males descended from an emperor can inherit the throne.
If the tabloid media are to be believed, Kiko, who has two daughters aged 14 and 11, will give the nation what it craves, although the Imperial Household Agency and Kiko’s doctors have refused to comment, claiming that even the parents do not know the baby’s sex.
Newspapers were preparing to roll off special editions — the number of pages will increase if the baby is a boy — while broadcasters have already launched hours of breathless coverage. In Counting Down the Seconds, Asahi TV took viewers through the finer points of a caesarean section and explained the contents of the ancient rites that will follow the birth, including the presentation of a sword by the baby’s grandfather, Emperor Akihito.
Academics, meanwhile, speculated over which combination of Chinese kanji characters Prince Akishino would select for the baby’s name. Most believed the child would be given a simple name, regardless of its sex, in keeping with those given to their daughters, Mako and Kako.
Yasuo Ohara, a classics professor at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo, told Reuters: ”He probably won’t choose anything complicated, or that would be difficult for the public to feel familiar with.”
Whatever the child’s sex, many are predicting that Kiko will spark a mini-baby boom in Japan, which has seen its birthrate drop to a record low this year.
The stock market, meanwhile, has already responded to baby fever. Manufacturers of baby goods have seen their shares jump in recent days, with those in Combi, which specialises in prams, hitting an all-time high on the Tokyo stock exchange on Monday.
Kiko’s pregnancy has given the country’s conservatives hope that they can resolve the succession crisis — at least for the time being — without resorting to legal changes that would allow females to become sovereigns.
Crown Prince Naruhito, the heir apparent, and his wife, Princess Masako, were expected to have a son following their marriage in 1993 but have produced only a daughter, four-year-old Princess Aiko.
Masako, a former diplomat who has struggled to adapt to life in one of the world’s most conservative monarchies, has been battling depression since late 2003 and is considered unlikely to have another child.
The Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, was preparing to submit a reform Bill earlier this year that would have made Aiko eligible to ascend the throne but put his plans on hold after news emerged of Kiko’s pregnancy. If the baby is a girl, pressure for reform is expected to return. – Guardian Unlimited Â