Japan's Princess Kiko gave birth on Wednesday to a baby boy, the first imperial male heir to be born in more than four decades and the answer to the prayers of conservatives keen to keep women off the ancient throne.
The birth will scuttle for now a plan to let women ascend the throne, an idea opposed by traditionalists eager to preserve a practice they say stretches back more than 2,000 years. That would disappoint many Japanese, most of whom favour giving women equal rights to the throne.
TV programmes flashed the news that a male heir - the third in line after his uncle and father - had been born, although tabloid media had forecast weeks earlier that the baby was a boy.
Newspapers issued extra editions, eagerly snapped up on the street, to announce the arrival of the emperor's first grandson. Royal fans waving Japanese flags and shouting "Congratulations" greeted Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, as the beaming grandparents left a hotel in Sapporo, northern Japan, where they are on an official visit. "It's a refreshing feeling that reminds us of a clear autumn sky," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, a conservative expected to become Japan's new prime minister this month, told reporters.
Asked about succession law reform, he added: "It is important for us to discuss it calmly, carefully and firmly." An Imperial Household Agency official told reporters Kiko had given birth by a Caesarean operation to the 2,558 gram (5 lb 10 ounce) boy at 8:27 am (2327 GMT). He said both Kiko, 39, and the baby were doing well.
No imperial boys had been born since the baby's father, Prince Akishino, in 1965, raising the possibility of a succession crisis. Crown Prince Naruhito, 46, and Crown Princess Masako, 42 have one child, 4-year-old Princess Aiko. Ceremonies around the birth include the laying of a tiny sword near the baby's pillow by his father to ward off demons.
Japanese emperors have not been worshipped as gods since Akihito's father, Hirohito renounced his divinity after Japan's defeat in World War Two, and have no political authority. But the monarchy remains rich with symbolism and ritual.
Near Tokyo's Gakushuin University, where Akishino and Kiko met, a dance troupe performed, carp streamers flew in honour of the infant boy, and locals toasted the baby with sake rice wine. About 70 members of one group gathered near Tokyo's imperial palace to sing the national anthem and shout "Banzai" (Long Life) to the infant.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had planned to revise the law to let women ascend the throne but Kiko's pregnancy stalled that proposal, which would have cleared the way for Aiko to become Japan's first reigning empress since the 18th century.
"Males won't necessarily be born, so unless women and their children are allowed to ascend the throne, the succession would be rather difficult," he told reporters.