Princess Aiko, the only child of Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown

Princess Aiko, the only child of Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, has pneumonia, the royal palace said.

The nine-year-old princess was hospitalized yesterday because of a persistent high temperature and cough.

“Princess Aiko still has a high fever and cough, and doctors diagnosed her as suffering from mild pneumonia,” a spokesman for the Imperial Household Agency said.

“She continues to require medical treatment and needs to remain in hospital,” he said, adding it was not known how long she was expected to remain there.

Aiko began running a fever of about 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit) at the weekend, the palace spokesman said.

Her mother Masako stayed with her at the hospital last night, Jiji Press said.

Aiko was born in 2001 after seven years of marriage between Naruhito and Masako.

Source AP