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Japan Princess turns 3 amid talk of throne issue
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-02 16:05

Japanese Princess Aiko, the only child of the Imperial heir, greeted her third birthday Wednesday amid speculation about legal changes that would allow her to one day ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne.


Princess Aiko and her father, Crown Prince Naruhito, are driven to the Imperial Palace on the occasion of the princess' third birthday.

Current laws prohibit women from inheriting the throne. But the Imperial family is facing its most serious succession crisis in centuries, and public support is strong for a revision that would allow Princess Aiko, the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito, to reign.

The princess meanwhile greeted her birthday much like a regular 3-year-old.

She was taken to the Imperial Palace to meet her grandparents, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and spent 40 minutes with them and her father. Her mother, Crown Princess Masako, did not accompany them, as she is in mourning for her grandmother, who died Nov. 19.

After returning to her parents' palace, the princess received a birthday celebration from Imperial Household Agency officials.

According to the agency, the little princess has grown to 96 cm and loves to climb trees.

She can now brush her own teeth and change clothes by herself. She also enjoys origami, singing and twice-weekly play sessions with other children at the palace, the agency said.

A Mainichi Shimbun newspaper report said Wednesday that the government has begun studying the feasibility of amending the Imperial Household Law within the next several years. The report did not cite sources.

Although opposition remains within the government to any revision because some want to "protect the tradition of male succession," practical considerations were taking over, the report says.

The government's top spokesman said he was unaware of such movements.

"I think we have to continue to look at public opinion," and see how the situation develops, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said.

"But I don't think it's the appropriate moment yet," he said.

No boy has been born to the Imperial family since the 1960s, and supporters of a revision say it should be made sooner rather than later to allow Princess Aiko to be properly groomed for the throne.

Surveys show that more than 80 percent of the public supports changing the law.

The government is also reportedly considering changing another aspect of the law that strips female royals of their status if they marry commoners.

Japan last had a reigning empress almost 200 years ago. Eight women have occupied the Chrysanthemum Throne throughout its 1,500 years of documented history.

Princess Nori, the 35-year-old only daughter of the Imperial Couple, will be formally engaged to Tokyo Metropolitan Government official Yoshiki Kuroda, 39, on Dec. 18, the Imperial Household Agency said.

In accordance with current rules, Princess Nori will become a commoner once she is married.



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