Boy or girl? Japan awaits birth (and conservatives hope for boy)

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN/Reuters: Boy or girl? Japan awaits birth
September 5, 2006


Princess Kiko, accompanied by husband Prince Akishino, arrives at a Tokyo hospital Wednesday.

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Conservatives keen to keep women from ascending the Chrysanthemum Throne are hoping this week will bring the answer to their prayers: the birth of Japan's first imperial male heir in more than four decades.

Princess Kiko, the 39-year-old wife of Emperor Akihito's second son, is scheduled to give birth by a Caesarean operation on Wednesday following pregnancy complications.

The birth of a boy would almost certainly derail debate on revising Japan's males-only imperial succession law to let women take the throne.

"Before Kiko's pregnancy there was momentum toward change, but if a boy is born, enthusiasm will diminish," said Miiko Kodama, a professor at Musashi University in Tokyo....Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had planned to enact legislation to give women equal rights to inherit the throne to avert a succession crisis.

The change would have put 4-year-old Princess Aiko, the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito, 46, and Crown Princess Masako, 42, next in line to the throne after Naruhito....

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/japan.princesses.reut/index.html

[LynneSin]

1. Let's hope it's a girl

About time we get Japan to the 21st century

[HereSince1628]

5. I'd just as soon see the monarchy end.

That would go a long to getting them into the second millenium.

[LostinVA]

13. I know

[lost-in-nj]

2. I cannot believe

that they don't know the sex of the baby.
With all our modern technology now I'll bet the "right" people know if its a boy or girl.
lost

[WePurrsevere]

11. Both of my daughters knew they were going to have girls early on. Unless

the fetus had it's legs crossed or it's butt to the "camera" each time it's as simple as an ultra sound with today's technology.

It seems to be the norm in the US to do an ultasound a couple of times to check on the fetus' developement, I my thoughts were the same as yours and I would certainly think that a Prince's potential heir would have all of the latest tech available to it.

Hopefully it's a healthy baby and better yet a healthy GIRL. :D

[Critters2]

16. And if the ultrasound doesn't show it,

amniocentesis can.

I can't believe they don't know.

[shanti]

22. now THAT is foolproof! n/t

[shanti]

21. ultrasound isn't foolproof

when i was pregnant with my son in 1990, i had an ultrasound, but they couldn't tell me what sex he was and i was about 16 weeks along. i think it depends upon the position of the baby.

[Ravenseye]

23. The new ultrasounds are pretty much foolproof

We had our first child a couple of years ago and the ultrasound technician gave us an 80% chance of a girl. It was a girl, but man it was tough to tell.

Our current one due in a month and a half there was no question. The new '4d' ultrasounds leave no room for error. It doesn't matter what angle they're at or anything. It's pretty amazing. It's like watching a 3d video from within the womb of the baby, and you can easily see everything. It's pretty insane.

[shanti]

27. wow!!!!

technology really HAS come a long way! that is so awesome - you can actually SEE your child before it's born...:wow:

[Ravenseye]

29. yeah the jaw drop is right

we have a video we brought home and showed my mother in law. Before she saw it the only thing she had seen was the traditional 2d pictures the grey and whites...she asked if we were sure it was a boy, and we said, "you'll see. There is no question."

It was pretty amazing to watch live too. He was moving around. WE could see his face, his hands. He yawned. It was crazy.

The difference just a couple years makes going to the same clinic. I can't imagine getting a 4D ultrasound and NOT being able to tell the sex. The tech asked us if we wanted to know, and we said yes and a few seconds later....we were staring at my boy's junk... heh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmzUw05bbD0

Here's a 4d video online, not mine of course, but you can see how they do the old school 2d ultrasound, and use that to build the 3d model, and then make it realtime in 4d. There's a bunch of other ones. I can't speak to any of their quality.

[pnwmom]

36. My baby looked like Darth Vader.

Yours is beautiful! Congratulations!

[PassingFair]

38. Did those ultra-ultrasounds cost extra, Ravenseye?

I've heard that they were expensive. Did your insurance
cover the full expense?

[Ravenseye]

43. where we went it was standard

we went to a private imaging clinic and it was standard. ACtually it was cheaper than going to the clinic in the hospital. Insurance covered it, but without insurance it would have been 100 bucks.

[PassingFair]

44. Thanks for the info!

It's been a LONG time (11 years)since I've had
a baby! Things have SURE changed a lot.

[WePurrsevere]

26. I had one done years ago for mine as well but these new ones are amazing.

Technology has come a long way in the last few years. I was truly impressed with how much clearer the pictures are, they also seem to do two or three is couple of month intervals so they can watch the development. As I said though... if there's a "shy" fetus with it's legs crossed it's a bit harder to tell with any certainty. ;)

Of course an amniocentesis is probably a bit more definitive and certainly a good diagnostic tool if there is a concern but there's also a higher risk factor and more discomfort for the mother with them (I had one done for my eldest.. ::ouch:: ).

[Ohio Joe]

19. I heard something about this on NPR this past weekend

They said the family does know the sex of the child, they are just not making it public.

[breakaleg]

30. They know. I Japan they get ultrasounds with every check-up!

They are likely just not releasing the information.

[Totally Committed]

3. Pink Booties all around!

Hoping for a Japanese Princess!


TC

[SteppingRazor]

4. Odd that conservatives would be so against an Empress...

some of Japan's earliest rulers were female, going back to the 7th and 8th centuries. So, it's not as though this hasn't happened before :shrug:

[Kagemusha]

7. Apparently they only got serious about this since Meiji Restoration

I don't personally know the fine details beyond that, if they were influenced by Western monarchies, if it was just a matter of the Emperor being a military figurehead as well now (which pre-Restoration had been a Shogun thing not an Emperor thing, for centuries, and which the new regime wanted changed for nationalism reasons)... so can't have a girl as a military figurehead they must have thought...

Because you're right, Japan had plenty of female rulers, though I try to be careful about how I throw around the term "ruler" when ceremonial and political power are divided. On that score, Japan's had massive ups and downs.

[Benhurst]

9. Yeah, who would you rather have in a foxhole next to you, George W. or

Barbara Bush?

I'd go with Bar any day. As Nixon pointed out, there's a person who knows how to hate. She'd be really vicious in combat.

[Bake]

12. Vicious, yes. She'd probably shoot you in the back!

Frankly, I wouldn't want to be in a foxhole with either one of them. Junior is totally inept, and Mom is a scorpion. I'll take somebody like, oh, Wes Clark.

Bake

[Benhurst]

18. On second thought, I'll go with Wes, too.

:rofl:

Besides, there'd be more room in the foxhole.

[Double T]

6. Conservatives always want to stack the deck..........

to achieve THEIR desired outcome. They will break laws, change laws, undermine the current system or do whatever is necessary to HAVE IT THEIR WAY, AND THEIR WAY ONLY!!!! It is time to turn the tables om the neocons WORLDWIDE and CRUSH CONSERVATISM which I believe represents anti-freedom and anti-democracy. Conservatives are ANYTHING BUT patriots despite their flag waving and 'God Blesses', making them the exact opposite of their heavily advertised persona. It has come down to manipulation of the gender of the successor to the throne. The entire world is regressing!

[bleedingheart]

8. I hope its a healthy baby.

but a girl would be grand!

[Benhurst]

10. For the child's sake and its parents, I join you in hoping it is healthy.

But Hirohito was a war criminal and should have been hanged for his crimes. And the monarchy should have been abolished after WWII.

If this had been done, we wouldn't be following this story.

[LostinVA]

14. I suspect you may be flamed for this, but I agree

Well, I'm anti-DP... but Hirohito should have been imprisoned until his death, at least.

[Benhurst]

15. I'm against the death penalty, too. But given the realities of

the times, if he had been given a fair trial, he would have been hanged.

[LostinVA]

17. No, I know -- that's why I agree with you n/t

[bleedingheart]

28. I agree the monarchy in Japan should have been disbanded

and Hirohito should have stood trial.

[Irreverend IX]

46. A lot of people wanted to do that...

But the occupiers decided to throw the Japanese traditionalists a bone by allowing them to keep an impotent Emperor on the throne. Note that it is actually the norm in Japanese history for the Emperor to be a powerless figurehead; during the warring states period and the Shogunate, the Emperors were nothing but sock puppets. Powerful Emperors only existed for a brief period from the Meiji restoration to WWII, and even then the throne was used as a political football by various factions.

The biggest mistake the occupiers made, from a pro-reform perspective, was not removing Japan's bureaucrats from power after the war. They replaced the military government with a democracy, but the ministers and administrators (who have always been the true power in Japan) were allowed to retain their seats, thus the core of the Japanese government remained unchanged.

[SoCalDem]

20. Crown Princess Masako might be happily awaiting a boy too.

That would take a lot of "heat" off of her. She's a nervous wreck (apparently) over the pressure for her to pop out a boy.. There was even talk of changing the rules so their daughter could take over in the future..

"Royalty" is such a silly anachronism in this day and age..

[Writer]

24. The picture of Princess Kiko looks like that optical illusion drawing...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

31. The white part is the curtains on the imperial limo

:-)

[gauguin57]

25. Monarchies suck.

Male-heir succession sucks.

This is 2006. What the f***?

[texanwitch]

32. I would bet the baby is a girl, if it was a boy it would be in the news.

I hope it is a girl.

[Crunchy Frog]

33. Praying for a girl.

This little tyke should be the future Empress, and Japan should upgrade its attitudes for the 21st century.

[smirkymonkey]

40. If it's a boy, I hope he grows up to be a flaming homosexual.

What will the Japanese conservatives do then?

[Deja Q]

34. Well, much like the Irwin threads, I'm whippin' out my popcorn...

:popcorn:

[spinbaby]

35. It's tomorrow morning in Japan

Any news?

[Dudemachine]

37. It's a baby boy!!!!!!! :) n/t

[shanti]

39. the empire is saved!!!!

:sarcasm:

congrats to the new parents.

[cmkramer]

41. Ironically enough

Prince Akishino, the baby's father, was the last Japanese prince. (1965).

Incidentally, Princess Kiko lived in Pennsylvania for many years where her father was a college professor.

[Darth_Kitten]

49. Well she seems blindly submissive now.........

she did her "duty"

haHA!

[Truthiness Inspector]

45. Strange first post

Almost like a celebration of "male superiority."

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[KitSileya]

47. Was there any doubt it would be a boy?

This 'surprise' pregnancy of Princess Kiko, whose husband, incidentally, is so against letting girls inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne that he suggested Crown Prince Naruhito take a concubine when the Crown Princess failed her duty (sarcasm), is anything but a surprise pregnancy, mark my word. She's 39, has two daughters aged 11 and 14, and my bet is, this pregnancy was IVF with all the XX embryos discarded before implantation. Whether The Imperial couple and the Crown Prince agreed to this, I don't know (you can be sure they didn't consult Crown Princess Masako - tho' it's possible her life will be a bit easier now, without the pressure.)

[Darth_Kitten]

48. Oh, modernize already...........

:eyes:

Woman as brood mare.