THE news that Japan had been awaiting for weeks was finally confirmed yesterday when it was announced that Crown Princess Masako is expecting a baby at the end of the year.
One woman television presenter was so excited that she said it meant she could raise her hands high and say "banzai!", the traditional Japanese salutation. The official confirmation ended weeks of anticipation after palace officials said last month that the 37-year-old princess was "possibly pregnant".
The cautious phrasing reflected public concern following the princess's miscarriage in December 1999, which officials blamed on the media frenzy that followed news of her pregnancy.
After television company helicopters followed her car as she drove to see her doctor, Crown Prince Naruhito, 41, condemned the coverage as "truly deplorable".
Yesterday's announcement was made by Kiyoshi Furukawa, Grand Master of the Crown Prince's Household, who confirmed that the princess was three months pregnant and was expecting the baby in late November or early December.
Yesterday, television channels broadcast joyful reports prepared during the past month of unofficial embargo. The media have refrained from reporting on the widespread belief that the couple underwent fertility treatment. Fertility issues are sensitive in Japan and virtually taboo when discussing the imperial family.
Japan has waited eagerly for the birth of an heir to the Chrysanthemum throne since the marriage of Crown Prince Naruhito to Masako Owada, a former career diplomat and a commoner, in 1993. Japanese began to fear that the couple would remain childless, creating a succession crisis for the world's oldest unbroken monarchy.
There is no heir to the throne beyond the next generation. The next in line to Prince Naruhito is his 35-year-old brother, Prince Akishino, who has two daughters. As females they are barred from the succession. If Princess Masako's child is a boy the immediate problem will be solved, but a girl would intensify pressure to change the law to allow a reigning empress.
Last week, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party was reported to be studying the possibility of a law to allow a woman to succeed. Junichiro Koizumi, the new Prime Minister, and other political leaders have supported the idea.
Only seven of Japan's 125 sovereigns have been women, the most recent in 1771. An 1889 law barred women from the throne. Asked if royal doctors would test the baby's gender, Mr Furukawa said: "At this point we aren't considering it at all."
Crown Princess Masako, who has rarely spoken in public since her marriage, was said yesterday to be resting in her residence.
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Prince Charles wants banks and post offices in pubs(Yahoo: Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Charles has called for banks and post offices to be opened inside village pubs in a bid to stop rural services declining.
"More and more banks are closing and post offices are closing," Wednesday's Mirror quoted the prince as saying.
"Why can't we have all three in the pub?" Charles said during a visit to St Austell Breweries in Cornwall as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations.
The Mirror said a third of Britain's 10,000 villages do not have a pub because fierce competition has forced breweries to shut down their least profitable watering holes.