Princess Kiko

Kiko, 39, is expected to give birth to her third child in September or October, Imperial Household Agency sources said. Agency chief Shingo Haketa confirmed her pregnancy at a news conference Feb. 7.

The prince and princess have two daughters, Princess Mako, 14, and Princess Kako, 11.

If the expected baby is male, he will be third in line to the throne after Crown Prince Naruhito, 45, and Akishino, 40, under the succession rule, which only allows male heirs with emperors on their fathers' side to ascend to the throne.

But no boy has been born to the Imperial family since 1965, leading the government to propose historic changes to the world's oldest monarchy, which according to legend has lasted more than 2,600 years.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi repeated his determination Feb. 7 to have the government submit a bill to revise the Imperial House Law and enact it by the end of the Diet session in mid-June so that Princess Aiko, the only child of Naruhito and Princess Masako, could one day ascend to the throne.

Given Kiko's pregnancy, however, support for the law's revision may weaken.

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 11, 2006
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