Japan royal hints at female rule

Crown princess Masako and Crown Prince Naruhito with Japan's newest royal family member

TOKYO, Japan -- Japan's oldest royal, Princess Takamatsu, has indicated that it may be possible for a female to ascend to the imperial Chrysanthemum Throne.

Writing in a women's magazine, Takamatsu, the 90-year-old widow of the late Emperor Hirohito's younger brother, welcomed the birth of Japan's newest royal family member, Princess Aiko, and said it would not be "unnatural" for a female to become the reigning monarch.

"I think it is possible that a female member of the imperial family could ascend the throne as the 127th reigning monarch, and that would not be unnatural, considering the long history of Japan," she wrote.

Aiko was born last month to Crown Princess Masako and Crown Prince Naruhito after eight years of marriage.

Though enthusiastically welcomed by an adoring Japanese public, Aiko's birth raised questions about succession to the imperial throne.

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Current law restricts succession to males, however no males have been born into the royal family since 1965.

Takamatsu said "it was up to the stork" whether Masako, 38, would give birth to a boy but added there was precedent in Japan's history for a change to a female empress.

Japan has been ruled by eight female monarchs in the past -- the last in the 18th century -- and surveys in Japan show that the majority of the public have no qualms over a female ascending to the throne.

Takamatsu said that there were also overseas role models for such a monarchy -- the most famous being Queen Elizabeth II who gained the royal throne of the United Kingdom in 1952 following the death of her father King George VI.