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Japan's Princess Masako May Be Pregnant
Japan's Princess Masako may be pregnant with a possible heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne after nearly eight years of marriage, the Imperial Household Agency said on Monday.
The agency told a hastily called news conference that Masako, 37, had been showing signs of pregnancy and would be examined by doctors, public broadcaster NHK said. She will restrict her public duties, it added, calling for "restraint" in media coverage.
The baby could be born in early December, NHK quoted palace sources as saying.
Masako has been married for nearly eight years to Crown Prince Naruhito and in late 1999 suffered a miscarriage after a brief but highly publicised pregnancy.
Domestic media came under heavy fire from the Imperial Household Agency and even Prince Naruhito for its intense coverage of the pregnancy that some critics said may have contributed to the miscarriage.
If the baby is a boy, it would be second in line to the throne and the first male born to the royal family in more than three decades.
No royal males have been born since 1965, when the Crown Prince's younger brother, Prince Akishino, was born. Akishino's two children are girls.
This has sparked speculation that Japan might have to alter its strict males-only succession statute to permit a female to inherit the throne of the world's oldest monarchy.
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