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American Morning

Japanese Princess Pregnant with Potential Heir to Throne

Aired May 15, 2001 - 11:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We have some happy news out of Japan to talk about today. After nearly eight years of marriage to the island nation's crown prince, Princess Masako is pregnant.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: As CNN's Marina Kamimura found, many people believe news of a royal offspring may solve more than just the question of imperial succession.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARINA KAMIMURA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Finally, the news that the Japanese had been hoping for: confirmation that a baby and potential heir to the throne is on the way for the crown prince and princess.

"This news will make everyone happy and give us a rosy feeling about the future," says this man. "It is very good news."

Some even predicting the happy tidings could ward off the other subject that's preoccupied the country for years as well.

"That kind of news can beat off the bad economy," says this man.

It's not the first time that the 37-year-old Masako and her husband Naruhito, who is Emperor Akihito's first born, have expected a child. A pregnancy in 1999 was cut short by a miscarriage, partially blamed on the media frenzy at the time. Analogous to the criticism of the international paparazzi that followed the 1997 death of another famous princess. The imperial household agency very clearly is urging calm among all this time around.

(on camera): The confirmation, however, does not resolve this controversial issue: whether the baby can be an heir to the imperial throne. According to current court rules, Japan's ruling monarch must be male.

(voice-over): No hints of the sex of the baby at this news conference, with Masako just three months pregnant. But with no heir yet nearly eight years after the couple wed in 1993 and growing concerns about a succession problem, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ruling party says that it is poised to start debating the merits of changing the rules.

While there's been disappointment in some quarters here that this princess, educated abroad at Harvard and Oxford, and a former career diplomat, has not done more to change the perception of women in Japan's monarchy, some say her simply being there has had results.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The imperial household is somewhat incomprehensible and out of touch for us. Before, we never could really talk about a female emperor, but now I feel we can. Maybe it's the Masako effect.

KAMIMURA: Debate is sure to rage on until a baby is born. Due date for this couple: late November or early December.

Marina Kamimura, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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