Japanese royal critic of female succession to be hospitalised

JAPAN: A cousin of Japan's Emperor Akihito who has made waves campaigning against female succession is due to undergo surgery to remove cancer from his throat, the Imperial Household Agency said Tuesday.

Prince Tomohito, 60, would be hospitalized Friday for surgery Monday after the initial stage of cancer was found during a regular examination earlier this month, the agency said.

"The prince is expected to stay in a hospital for two to three weeks," an agency spokesman said. Tomohito has undergone operations for cancer six times since 1991, most recently in 2003.

The prince is the only prominent royal to go on record opposing female succession to the throne of the world's oldest monarchy, which faces a crisis due to the lack of a male heir.

He suggested last year that the crown prince would be right to take concubines and called for the reinstatement of families who lost their royal titles after World War II.

Last month Tomohito said maternal succession "would be the beginning of Japan's end" and that the nation might become "the 51st state of America or a Chinese territory".

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last week abandoned his proposal for female succession after news that Princess Kiko had fallen pregnant, despite opinion polls showing most Japanese would support a woman on the throne.

Tokyo, Tuesday AFP