it's a boy

the huge news yesterday was that princess kiko gave birth to a boy, the first male heir to the japanese throne born in more than 40 years. over the last several years, there has been debate about whether to allow women to succeed a male emperor, and majority of japanese people feel that this would be acceptable. however, a vocal and conservative minority has been aggressively opposing such a change – arguing about the all-crushing power of Y-chromosomes and male appendages, and even suggesting that royal concubines be instituted so as to manufacture more potential heirs. for now, the debate has lost some steam, but the question still remains whether japanese law will change.

japan is still a pretty sexist society, evidenced from one angle (with great, daily annoyance on my part) by the obsessive-compulsive attention to appearance that grips the women of tokyo. no matter how well-educated, driven, accomplished and/or brainy a girl might be, her immaculate appearance counts for quite a lot. today i'm counting my blessings that i was born a farmer's daughter in california, and not to a harvard-educated princess trapped in an imperial palace.