Princess Aiko, 3, is the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako.

BEIJING, Feb. 23 -- Japan will prepare for a reigning empress for the first time in more than 200 years as the government drafts legal changes allowing female succession, a news agency reported Monday.

    Japan¡¯s royals are facing their most serious succession crisis in centuries. The current law bars women from ascending the Chrysanthemum Throne and no boy has been born to the imperial family since the 1960s.

    Kyodo News quoted an unnamed government official as saying ¡°Princess Aiko will go next¡± after her father, Crown Prince Naruhito, in line for the throne. The report gave no other details, and there was no answer late Monday at the prime minister¡¯s office.

    Princess Aiko, 3, is the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako.

    A government panel of experts began debating an amendment to the law last month but is not due to reach a conclusion until later this year. Among the issues the expert panel must resolve are whether the first-born child ¡ª be it a boy or a girl ¡ª should be first in line to the throne or if the first-born male should take precedence.

    Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is expected to act on the panel¡¯s recommendations. Parliament would also need to approve a change in the law.

    Recent polls have placed public support for a reigning empress at above 80 percent.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)