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Japan holds breath as royal baby due any day now
( 2001-11-25 15:30 ) (7 )

Anticipation is rising across an expectant Japan as the date draws closer for Crown Princess Masako to give birth to a possible, and long-awaited, heir for the world's oldest monarchy.

Masako's first child in more than eight years of marriage is due any day now. The baby, if a boy, will be second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne after his father, Crown Prince Naruhito.

The royal cradle used when Naruhito was a baby has been refurbished, plans are afoot for celebratory parades, and magazines are abuzz with speculation over royal birth dates.

Even the country's sober stock market, barraged with bad news about corporate profits and the economy, is hoping it will spark a rise as investors get an emotional lift from some rare good news -- with baby-related shares expected to be sought after.

Medical staff have been on 24-hour duty at the palace where the royal couple lives since November 20, Kyodo news agency said on Sunday, quoting sources in the Imperial Household Agency, which administers the royal family's affairs.

It added that other medical preparations, such as appointing a team of doctors to attend the princess, have been completed.

An agency official declined to confirm the report. "There is nothing I can say about that," he said.

GROWING ANTICIPATION, PREPARATION

As the day nears, plans for celebrations are being finalised.

A massive parade of people carrying paper lanterns -- a traditional celebratory ritual -- is set to take place in the rural town in northern Japan from which Masako's family comes.

In Tokyo, books will be set out in front of the Imperial Palace and the separate palace where the parents-to-be reside so ordinary citizens can leave congratulatory messages.

An expectant mood has spread to department stores as well, with many holding special promotions of baby goods. Even brewers of Japanese rice wine are getting into the act with a limited edition, commemorative vintage.

Some of the most intensive preparations are being made by the Japanese media, which has been surprising quiet since announcement of Masako's pregnancy in May -- a response to widespread criticism of its fevered coverage of her first pregnancy in 1999, which ended in a miscarriage.

That restraint, though, is soon set to end. Newspapers plan extras and floods of special articles, while television stations are gearing up for hours of non-stop coverage.

Most local media firms have been on round-the-clock alert since November 20. Some are even said to be staking out the route the princess will use to get to the hospital.

HEIR HOPES

Anticipation of the royal birth has been spurred by the fact that, according to strict inheritance laws, only boys are entitled to ascend the throne in the world's oldest monarchy.

No males have been born to the imperial family since Naruhito's younger brother, Prince Akishino, was born in 1965.

The shortage of male offspring had prompted discussions earlier this year by politicians of changing the law to allow a female sovereign, as is the case in many European monarchies.

Though Japan has been ruled by female monarchs in the ancient past -- and myth has it that the imperial family is descended from a sun goddess -- the mere thought of a modern version is anathema to some conservatives in a land where the emperor was once viewed as divine.

The fact that the question of rewriting the law has not been raised in the past few months has prompted speculation in some quarters that the baby may be a boy.

However, others say the issue has died down because there is no hurry, even if the baby is a girl. Naruhito, 41, will inherit from his father, Emperor Akihito, and Akishino is next in line.

BUSY SCHEDULE FOR BABY

Once the baby arrives, it faces a steady parade of rituals, starting with the presentation of a ceremonial samurai sword by the Emperor on the day of its birth or the day after.

A week later, the baby will be ritually bathed in a cedar tub by a courtier while auspicious texts, written in classic Chinese literary style and wishing it good health and fortune, are read aloud. On the same day, its name will be announced.

The parents don't, however, get to name their long-awaited infant. Tradition dictates that duty is reserved for the emperor.