The Crown Princess, 37, is showing signs that she might be pregnant, the Imperial Household Agency announced Monday.
The agency, at a hastily called news conference around noon, said the Crown Princess is in good condition and added it will take time for an official pregnancy announcement, which will be preceded by a detailed medical examination, including ultrasound.
Agency sources said later in the day that the Crown Princess appears to be in her sixth or seventh week of pregnancy, and if all goes well, the couple's first child will be born in the first half of December.