Tuesday, September 05, 2006

It's a Boy!

Japan has a new member of the family who is now third in line to the Imperial Throne, as Princess Kiko -- wife of the Crown Prince's younger brother -- has given birth to a boy.

Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife, Masako, have thus far only been blessed with a daughter, Aiko. A movement has been underway in Japan to change succession laws so that a girl can inherit the throne. This apparently didn't please the "suits" of the Imperial Household Agency, the powers behind the throne. Out of the blue Princess Kiko, whose youngest daughter is 11, announced her pregnancy, amidst considerable media speculation about whether there was any "scientific assistance" to increase her chances of having a boy.

For now the newborn boy will follow his uncle, Crown Prince Naruhito, and his father, Prince Akishino, in the line of succession. Whether the succession laws are changed in coming years remains to be seen.

The Royal News Forum can be counted on for regular updates.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Isn't the baby 3rd in line? He'd be behind his uncle (1st in line), his father (2nd in line), and then the new baby (3rd in line).

So present Crown Prince, Crown Prince's brother, Crown Prince's nephew. (I'm too lazy to look up all their names.)

And way to pass the problem to another generation that might not have sons either!

8:46 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

Yes, I actually fixed that earlier tonight (without noting it as an update) but it's apparently not showing up in your browser yet. You're absolutely right! :) I couldn't believe I'd overlooked that when I first wrote the note!

10:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wonder if I'm the only one that's having this problem with Firefox not refreshing pages--I can't be. At first I just thought it was Blogspot pages, but I'm noticing it on other blogs as well. Urg!

10:18 PM  

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