Japan's male heir named

Japan's new Prince, the first male heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne to be born in four decades, was last night named Hisahito - meaning "virtuous, calm and everlasting", the Imperial Household Agency announced.

The infant, who was born on September 6 and is third in line to be the country's Emperor, was named during a five-minute ceremony following age-old imperial rites at the Tokyo hospital where the Prince and his mother, Princess Kiko, who turned 40 the day before, are still recovering from the birth.