Japanese princess enters kindergarten

TOKYO, April 11 (UPI) -- Princess Aiko, the little girl who may become empress of Japan, entered kindergarten Tuesday.

Aiko was accompanied by her parents, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, during an entrance ceremony at the Gakushuin Kindergarten in Tokyo. She smiled as she walked into the building, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

The princess was one of 52 children, evenly divided between boys and girls, to start kindergarten. After the ceremony, the children were divided into two classes to begin school.

Aiko wore a blue uniform and hat and carried a satchel and tote bag.

The princess is an only child and the focus of a political dispute. If the law barring women from imperial rule is changed, she could some day succeed her father as emperor of Japan.