Japan welcomed its newest royal on Saturday with the birth of a girl to Crown Princess Masako. But the female birth means the long wait for an heir to the world's oldest imperial monarchy goes on unless the country changes its archaic succession laws.
The family has not produced a male since 1965 when Prince Akishino, younger brother of Princess Masako's husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, was born. Prince Akishino, who has two daughters, is third in line to the throne.
The media responded to news of Princess Masako's first child with wall-to-wall coverage, including newspaper supplements and TV specials produced months earlier.
Prominent politicians, including the Prime Minister, Mr Junichiro Koizumi, welcomed the birth and brushed off questions about changing the current male-only inheritance law which prohibits an empress from leading the 2,600 -year-old dynasty. "It's too early to talk about that yet," he said.
A joint internet poll by Yahoo Japan Co. and Kyodo News found that 85 per cent of respondents supported the idea of an empress.
Although few were prepared to voice it in the first flush of royal baby fever, there is little doubt that after seven successive female births, the government and the imperial household would have preferred a boy. While there was debate in the early stages of the pregnancy about the possibility of an empress ascending the throne, it quickly tapered off, leading most royal watchers to conclude that a boy was on the way. Either way, the child is a happy distraction for the government from the seemingly relentless problems that continue to beset the world's second largest economy. Struggling with recession, rising crime and record unemployment highs, many hope it will clear the gloom and help revive a slumping business sector. There has already been a noticeable rise in TV advertisements for baby products in the two days since the birth.
