Japan gets first glance at Prince Hisahito

JAPAN: Japan on Friday got its first glance at Prince Hisahito, the long-awaited new heir to the throne, who had a full head of hair and slept calmly in his mother's arms as he was brought out of the hospital.

Hisahito, whose name means serene and calm, kept his eyes closed and did not utter a sound as a smiling Princess Kiko held him in a white blanket before the flutter of cameras.

The nine-day-old prince is the first boy to be born to the Japanese royal family in 41 years and third in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Thousands of well-wishers, some waving Japanese flags, lined the streets as a motorcade of black limousines transported the prince, who weighed a light 2.6 kilograms (five pounds, 10 ounces) at birth, and his parents to the palace.

"Banzai!", or "Long live!", the crowd shouted as the prince, the first royal to be born in a private hospital instead of the palace, arrived at his new home.

Kiko, who turned 40 just five days after giving birth last week, wearing a white dress and pearl necklace, smiled as she posed for the picture with her baby next to her husband Prince Akishino, the second son of the emperor.

Hisahito's birth was a dream come true for conservatives as it led outgoing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to drop plans to introduce female succession to the world's oldest monarchy.

Crown Princess Masako, a former career woman who makes few appearances due to stress adapting to palace life, has one child from 13 years of marriage - four-year-old Princess Aiko. Kiko earlier gave birth to two daughters.

Traditionalists believe the imperial family has descended from a male line dating back more than 2,600 years. Historians agree the lineage dates back from at least the sixth century AD.

Tokyo, Friday, AFP