Japan ponders imperial succession

Japan’s Crown Princess Masako celebrated her 42nd birthday today, as the government considered legal changes that could see her four-year-old daughter Aiko become the country’s first empress in more than 200 years.

Masako gave up a diplomatic career to marry Crown Prince Naruhito in 1993.

The enormous pressure to produce a male heir led to a stress-induced condition that caused Masako to withdraw from public activities in December 2003, but since the summer she has taken tentative steps back into the public eye.