Japan's Princess Kiko Pregnant
TOKYO (Feb. 7) - Japan's Princess Kiko is pregnant, news reports said Tuesday, raising the possibility of the first male heir to Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne in 40 years.
The Imperial Household Agency refused to comment on the reports, which said Kiko -- the wife of Emperor Akihito's second-eldest son -- was due to give birth in the fall.
The news, carried by national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News agency, drew applause at a parliamentary committee meeting attended by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
However Koizumi urged lawmakers to proceed with consideration of a plan to allow women to ascend to the throne, saying a boy "may or may not be born."
"To ensure the stable continuity of Japan's imperial family, we cannot put the issue off any longer," he continued. "It is desirable that parliamentary debate is carried out in a calm, careful manner at the earliest opportunity."
Under current Japanese law only males can reign, which has left the country facing a succession crisis.
Kiko, the wife of Prince Akishino, has two daughters. Crown Prince Naruhito, first in line to the throne after his father Akihito, has a 4-year-old daughter, Aiko, with his wife, Crown Princess Masako.
The prospect of woman on the throne has touched off a wide-ranging debate in Japan.
Conservative opponents argue changing the law would corrupt the millennia-old tradition of male lineage.
Some critics have called for bringing back imperial concubines -- as were used until the early 20th century -- to breed male heirs. Others say the wider aristocracy, banned after World War II, should be reinstated to widen the pool of candidates for the throne.
Katsuya Okada, a member of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, urged a cautious approach to Koizumi's proposal.
"For the future stability of the royal family, we should give enough time to allow more thorough discussion," he said.
In the 1,500 or so years that Japan's royal family has reigned, only eight empresses have ruled. The most recent was Gosakuramachi, who ascended the throne in 1763.
The practice over the centuries has always been to use men whenever possible, and a 1947 law codified the tradition.
Cato.....Have you been hanging around the palace?!?
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