Japanese citizens celebrate arrival of the little prince

TOKYO — The arrival of Japan's littlest prince Wednesday sent citizens into the streets in euphoria to celebrate the end of their 41-year wait for a male heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne, the oldest monarchy in the world.

Well-wishers massed at the main gate to the Imperial Palace and waved Japanese national flags. Some shouted "Banzai!" ("Ten Thousand Years!") Onlookers clutching extra editions of newspapers watched as ceremonial dancers paraded in parts of Tokyo.

Stores set up displays to celebrate the birth, and a think tank said the event might shore up Japan's falling marriage and birth rates and bring a small economic windfall.

Earlier in the day, Princess Kiko, daughter-in-law to Emperor Akihito, gave birth to a 5.64-pound, healthy boy, the first male child born in the imperial family since 1965. The birth silenced debate over whether Japan should let females ascend to the throne and whether the patrilineal imperial line should continue after 125 unbroken generations.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, away in northern Japan as part of public duties, sent a messenger bearing a protective sword to place on the baby's pillow during its first night in the world. The sword is to ward off evil spirits. The royal couple is scheduled to return to Tokyo on Saturday.

The boy, third in line to the throne after Crown Prince Naruhito and Prince Akishino, will not be named until next Tuesday, the seventh day after his birth.

One of those most likely to feel relief at the birth is Crown Princess Masako, 42, a Harvard- and Oxford-trained former diplomat. She and Crown Prince Naruhito are the parents of a daughter, who was born in 2001. Crown Princess Masako was under pressure to have a son, and she has suffered from depression.

Now the stress is less. The pregnancy of her sister-in-law, also the mother of girls ages 11 and 14, culminated in the 8:27 a.m. birth by Caesarean section at Tokyo's Aiiku Hospital.

"She may be rather happy to be off the hook from the mountain of pressure on her only daughter, Aiko," said Sayo Miyazaki, a 24-year-old school clerk.

In drizzly weather, loyal supporters of the imperial family visited the palace, and some waved flags in joy over Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko's son.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's government said it was considering amending the Imperial House Law to allow female offspring to undergo the rigorous imperial training to assume the throne. But the proposed changes were set aside in February after the announcement of Princess Kiko's pregnancy.

After the birth, Koizumi said the male-only monarchy still faced difficulties and hinted that Japan would have to revisit the law to permit future empresses.