Princess Kiko is Pregnant for the 3rd time

[Toledo]

I think it would be interesting if she gaver birth to twin girls.XD Could you imagine the looks on those guys?

the look on their faces would be priceless!

 

[Eliza]

Can anyone imagine what those horrid pple at IHA face wld look like if it's a girl?

do you think they'll then apply the same pressure to both CP Masako and Pss Kiko to have another baby????? I hope if it's a girl, they simply take up the succession laws and allow Pss Aiko to be Queen.

Then once and for all, everyone can get on with life again!

 

[Toledo]

Princess Kiko has been in the family longer so I assume after giving birth to the second daugther she too suffered the same pressure. But, because her husband is just second to the throne, maybe that pressure was more obscure and done behind palace walls while with princess Masako was out there in the open. And, possibly the terrible way Masako has been threated was a message to Kiko to shape up and keep trying for for pregnancies.
I don't see Kiko, or even her husband, as Masako's victimizers. I see the two imperial couples as the true victims of an obsolete system enforced in post war Japan by the army officer who put his hand in the constitution: General McCarthur. It was a domino effect waiting to happen since that constitution was imposed on Japan and the imperial family.

 

[Charlotte1]

Also, Kiko hasn't had the 're-entry to Japan' issues that Charlotte has talked about on another thread -- so in many ways there just is no comparing the circumstances of the two women.

Just to clarify, Masako did not have 're-entry to Japan' issues, she actually made quite a successful transition back to Japan after living overseas. She has been diagnosed with "Adjustment Disorder" which is what returnee children are diagnosed with. She had problems adjusting to life within the Imperial Family, not to life in Japan after living overseas.
When looking at her schooling most of it was spent in Japan, she attended kindergarten in Russia, then elementary, junior high and at least one year of high school in Japan. Her final years of high school were spent in the US as well as university. Upon graduation she could have chosen to live outside of Japan permanently but she wanted to work for the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and she also enrolled at Tokyo University to study law. If re-entry to Japan had been a problem she would not have returned to live there permanently, Masako graduated from Harvard suma cum laude so getting a prestige job anywhere in the world would not have been difficult.

Getting back to Kiko, she has had the expectation on her to produce another child for a number of years. Back in 2002

In December, Yuasa went further. He suggested that the crown prince's younger brother, Fumihito, and his wife, Kiko, should try for a son in addition to the two daughters they already have. ``If you consider the prosperity of the Imperial Household, I would like to strongly hope for their third child,'' Yuasa said.

Yuasa was the Chief Steward of the IHA ( the top dog, he has since retired, there is a new Chief Steward)
Knowing the strong sense of duty and obligation the Japanese have to everything, I doubt very much whether Kiko was forced to have another child. She just knew that as the only wife of an Imperial Prince to be capable of having another child, it was her duty and obligation to do so.

(The other wives are well past child- bearing, Princess Hitachi is 66 and childless, Princess Tomohito is 51, Princess Takamado was widowed in 2002. Princess Mikasa is in her 80's!)

 

[SyberiaWinx]

While I disagree with their custom of "passing the line through the male", I've just now taken the time to think about it in a scientific manner. Placing all the hope on a woman would be quite a risk. They could be unable to produce or carry children to term. Plus, men are capable of having children all their lives, which women are not-they lose the ability to do so sometime in their 40s, usually. So, while I still believe women should have the equal right to become empress and marry without losing their title, it is not impossible to see why they want to focus on having the DNA pass through the male.

 

[Vanesa]

It's really hilarious that people who is always speaking about how silly it is to believe in conspiracies , here are believing in one... Princess Kiko doesn't got pregnant just for Akishino and her just want to, or for it just happened, but for the IHA, had planned it very carefully...(Muahaha)

I don't want to offend anyone, but I find pretty ridicoulous to have such dirty thoughts about Princess Kiko's pregnancy. I SHOULD like to see Aiko becoming an Empress but I'm not a Princess Kiko's enemy and a pro-Masako against her, nor viceversa. . And, we must remember in all cases, that this problem about succesion is a national matter of JAPAN. We've nothing to do over there as Japanese don't have any right to change other countries constitutions to their taste. We must not have "global laws". This could be very dangerous and bring the world to a massification where freedom shouldn't have any sense. People of the planet should do only that it is "politically correct", and all of us will finish to think exactly like our neighbors with any independent minds. Beware! We'll try not to interfer to other countries laws only for we doesn't like them. We must respect each other as we are...if not, it's easy to like someone who is exactly like us.

If Japanese people wants Princess Aiko to be their Empress, it's THEIR matter to push their authorities to change their succesion laws. If they doesn't want it...we must accept it, even if we thing they are narrow-minded, this or that.

Vanesa.

 

[Prince of Chota]

And again...Isn't it?

I doesn't like this new culture of "women are better than men" that we are experiencing nowadays. None are better than the other, since the ones couldn't exist without the others...Simply. So; go ahead people. One beside the other.

Vanesa.

Then wouldn't it just be nice if Japan adopted universal succession?

 

[Prince of Chota]

And, we must remember in all cases, that this problem about succesion is a national matter of JAPAN. We've nothing to do over there as Japanese don't have any right to change other countries constitutions to their taste.

Of course we don't, but it certainly doesn't mean that we must hold out tongues here in the Royal Forums, which is designed for such discussions. Wishing misfortune on the pregnant princess is quite distasteful, in my opinion, but hoping that the country doesn't get an opportunity to put off dealing with the succession issue is not. If a boy is born to Kiko, the matter will be solved for another generation, but what then? The same problem may arise. It's best to deal with the issue as soon as possible. And there are people, like myself, who question whether the average person in Japan knows (or is given enough information by the gov.) the history of the situation behind the palace walls. The truth is that Japan HAS had several female emperors, and that women DIDN'T lose their imperial titles upon marriage to a commoner. And that half the marriages imperial women have made recently are NOT to commoners, but members of princely shinnoke who were stripped of their titles by the UNITED STATES OCCUPATION. Tell me THAT isn't meddling in another country's affairs.

Whether the ancient laws were altered by the Meiji government as it tried to westernise the country, or by the United States' reforms, the current regulations are un-Japanese.

 

[Vanesa]

Of course, I share what you wrote above. It's one of the most intelligent posts about the matter I even read.You said it much more accurately than I could have done it myself, since my English is really, really bad...

Adding to this, I thought that, not being Japanese myself, I have no right to discuss matters that must be solved by Japanese people. And I'm happy they doesn't have to "hold their tongues", not in Japan, not here. Forums are to discuss different issues, but we must be VERY CAREFUL about what we are discussing about. We westerns, are thaught to believe that we have the greater civilization in the whole world, and that we must imposse it to other countries, for "we know better". Of course, this is not true (for no civilization is better than other one, but only different)...And if we think that we are impossing some values that ARE NOT share for 100% of westerns either, we are in a big trouble...

Good for you. We have an original opinion, after all! I always enjoy your post, Princess of Chota. Be sure of it.

Vanesa.

 

[mandyy]

This week's TIME asia edition features the Imperial Family and it's future.
Japan's Mystery of Majesty
Late on the afternoon of aug. 16, an imperial motorcade departed from Prince Akishino's royal residence in Tokyo and headed for Aiiku Hospital. The main car carried Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko, elegantly attired in a checkered gray suit. As the unhurried motorcade reached the hospital in central Tokyo, where a throng of reporters and onlookers had gathered, Kiko opened the window and offered the crowd what the Japanese media have dubbed her "princess smile": an enigmatic expression that suggests she knows she's fulfilling her royal destiny. Kiko had come to the hospital to prepare for the arrival of her third child, scheduled for birth via a caesarean section on Sept. 6. Three weeks is a long hospital stay for an expectant mother, but Kiko is 39 years old and her doctors have every reason to exercise caution: she is quite possibly carrying the future Emperor of Japan.....................
http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501060904/story.html

Royal Roots
http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501060904/timeline.html


Images from TIME Asia

 

[foiegrass]

i wish kiko safely delivers a baby boy and this mess would be over once and for all.

*my personal opinon.

 

[linda85]

Thank you Mandy for the timely article about Japan's succession crisis. Very interesting indeed. I wonder if the IHA decided on a Sept 6th birthday for the new baby as it may be an auspicious date in the Japanese calendar?

Thanks again,
Linda 81

 

[morhange]

I wonder if the new baby, if he turns out to be a boy, will have a name ending in -ko like his mother and sisters. For the women, it seems to be a trend: Masako, Aiko, Kiko, Mako, Kako.

 

[Elspeth]

-ko is the traditional ending for female names in Japan. It means "child." Pretty much says it all there, doesn't it, about the way the Japanese view women. Japanese male children in the imperial family have the ending "-hito," which I think means "man."

 

[Opal]

-ko is the traditional ending for female names in Japan. It means "child." Pretty much says it all there, doesn't it, about the way the Japanese view women. Japanese male children in the imperial family have the ending "-hito," which I think means "man."

Yeah, and they've got it all backwards... since men are the ones who act like a "child".

 

[Emmily]

Mandyy, do you know if this article will be featured in the US version of Time? Thanks for letting us know about this.

 

[johann]

According to the Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun, Prince Akishino revealed the sex of his third child towards a friend. And guess what: it’s a boy.
Don´t know if this story is true. After reading the last two passages of the article, it looks a little fishy to me.

It's a boy for Japan: magazine
Posted: 31 August 2006 1505 hrs
TOKYO : Japan's Prince Akishino has confided to a friend that his wife Princess Kiko will have a boy, who would be the first male heir born into the royal family in four decades, a magazine reported Thursday.
The Shukan Bunshun quoted an unidentified friend who said the prince told him the tightly guarded news three months ago…...……

The friend of Akishino told the magazine, however, that there is still a room for uncertainty. "The comment was said at a time when it was possible to tell the sex of the baby, but he is not the type of person who would casually disclose such an important piece of information," the friend told Shukan Bunshun. The magazine said it was possible that Akishino was not confirming the sex of his long-awaited baby but instead was trying to avoid disappointing his friend who hoped for a boy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060831/wl_asia_afp/afplifestylejapanroyalsuccession_060831070241

 

[Lakshmi]

Re post # 416: I find it strange that Masako who spend her life in so many countries including USA, and than comming back to Japan did not have any problems with adjustment. She lived in countries with different cultures ,languages etc. And seemed to do very well. It looks she was a peron used to change environment. And suddenly she had 'adjustment disorder' when she begin to live with Japan Imperial Family.
Maybe her "disorder" was because Imperial house became her "gold cage"?

 

[Eliza]

I caught the tail end of the our evening news and it reported that the prince when asked by his friend if the baby was a boy, replied "it surely is a boy"

We'll know soon enough come Sept 6th.....

 

[lotus]

Members of Japan royal family are not free as European royal family. I've heard that Prinese Masako should follow lots rules...how to wave her hands, how to smile, how to wear.....Even Princess Masako who is accustomed to changing environment, she must not get used to this kind environment!!

 

[RachelD]

Members of Japan royal family are not free as European royal family. I've heard that Prinese Masako should follow lots rules...how to wave her hands, how to smile, how to wear.....Even Princess Masako who is accustomed to changing environment, she must not get used to this kind environment!!

I've never looked into this or heard anything (I usualy don't follow up on Imperial Family). But I had noticed that both Masako and Kiko wave the same way, they wear outfits that are almost the same, thier little hats are also almost the same...hmmm....They even smile (almost) the same way. Maybe they do have to follow a certain guide line when being in public (and private life). I can't imagine someone being happy when they can't be thier natural selfs!

It took me FOREVER to find some pictures of these two princess together....does anyone else see the similarities?

Pictures from :

Getty Images


http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/56781504.jpg?v=1&c=MS_GINS&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193CC300C081D9F4700CFEE8961A98CB1FB09F9B6A0A555925B

http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/52822535.jpg?v=1&c=MS_GINS&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193CC300C081D9F4700973EFF11826F36F3F16E4E390F4989F0

http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/56763832.jpg?v=1&c=MS_GINS&k=2&d=AAAB1D3D22B8F28C5AC166345984FD8D


To conclude, I wish the best to Princess Kiko and her yet-to-be-born baby....(I hope it's a girl!).

 

[mandyy]

Princess Kiko to give birth to 3rd child by Caesarian on Wednesday
Princess Kiko, the wife of Prince Akishino, Emperor Akihito's second son, will give birth to her third child by Caesarian section Wednesday morning, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday...........A baby girl will be the royal couple's third daughter. Boy or girl, the baby will be the fourth grandchild of the emperor, 72, and his wife Empress Michiko, 71, and the 23rd member of the imperial family alive today...................The 39-year-old Princess Kiko awaits her operation at Aiiku Hospital in Tokyo's Minato Ward, where she has stayed since Aug. 16 to prepare for a Caesarian delivery.....................
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060901/kyodo/d8jrtu000.html

Japanese princess to give birth on September 6
..............."She will give birth in the morning of September 6," an Imperial Household Agency agency spokeswoman said, confirming earlier news reports..............
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060901/wl_asia_afp/japanroyalsuccession_060901074211

 

[tosca_van_oranje]

good luck enjoy the birth party

 

[soCal girl]

We'll know in less than a week.

 

[btsnyder]

I always found the timing of this pregnancy interesting, a full 12 years after the birth of their last child. Surely someone in the Imperial Household must have sat the couple down and "suggested" that they have another child, since it was unlikely that Masako was able to have another, considering her fragile mental state and advancing age. Or, I wonder if it was a concious decision on the part of Akishino and Kiko, their chance to produce an heir for Japan and be parents of the next emperor. What are everyone's thoughts?

 

[tricia]

Princess Kiko will have a c-section on Wednesday, September 5th...that was announced today.

 

[Emily]

I believe that is Wednesday the 6th of September.

 

[rominet09]

If it is done early in the morning, we, Europeans, will have the news when we get up !

 

[SyberiaWinx]

Perhaps, like so many parents at that age, they see their once little girls growing up and want to relive having a little baby to raise. And since the IHA also want another baby-a boy-why not give it a go.

Either way, best of wishes to Princess Kiko and the baby. Let's hope they both remain healthy.

 

[foiegrass]

aye. 6th sept. my birthday. and we'll know whether its a girl or a boy. how exciting! i suppose. futhermore, kiko's birthday is on the 11th.