Letter From Japan: The Princess Wars

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Meanwhile, Masako's demure and traditional sister-in-law, the wife of the Emperor's second son Akishino, seems born to be a Japanese princess. Earlier this year, as conservatives searched for a way to defeat legislation that would allow women to ascend to the throne--a move that had the support of some 80% of the Japanese public--it was Kiko, then 39, who conceived her miracle boy out of pure imperial duty, according to some of her fans. "The Emperor had been worried and depressed that the crown princess had no more children," says Nishiyama. So Kiko and Akishino "decided to have another child to lift the burden from the Emperor's shoulders." Whether or not that's true, Kiko has become the darling of the Japanese media and Establishment for being everything Masako is not. "Princess Kiko was courageous to give birth to a third child in a society of low birthrate," said House of Councilors president Chikage Ogi. "This is what women should learn from her."

But even if the traditional Kiko is lionized, the country's plummeting birthrate shows that Japanese women--regardless of their princess preference--are increasingly choosing modern lives. So the big loser in all this could be the baby. As Japan continues to change while the dynasty stands still, the prince may find it surprisingly difficult to find a Japanese woman willing to become his princess.