Japanese royal watchers believe that Crown Princess Masako is expecting the world's first test-tube emperor after secretly undergoing fertility treatment last month, The Independent daily newspaper reported yesterday.
Japanese courtiers announced last week that the 37-year-old princess, who has been married for eight years and has had one miscarriage, is around six or seven weeks pregnant.
Doctors and journalists believe that she has undergone in-vitro fertilization after increasing anxiety about the future of the imperial throne, the paper said.
The Japanese imperial line claims descent from the Sun Goddess more than 2,000 years ago but is currently suffering a distinct shortage of heirs.
Since Princess Masako married Crown Prince Naruhito in 1993, the couple have been under constant scrutiny for signs they were expecting a child.
Last week's happy news came a month-and-a-half after one of Japan's leading infertility experts was appointed as the princess' personal doctor, The Independent reported. It added, however, that there is no evidence that the royal couple have chosen the sex of their child, and only a male can succeed to the Chrysanthemum throne.
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