Speculation mounts over emperor's stress

TOKYO —

Doctors for Emperor Akihito blame stress for his stomach problems, giving rise to speculation over the cause, with some citing a longstanding row with the family of Crown Prince Naruhito or the emperor’s concern over prospects for the imperial family.

The Imperial Household Agency’s medical supervisor, Ichiro Kanazawa, at a news conference Tuesday, recommended a cutback in the emperor’s official duties through the New Year’s period to reduce his burden, but also added, ‘‘Please do not simply think that he feels distress because he is busy performing official duties or his schedule is tight.’‘

One senior official of the agency speculated, ‘‘The emperor must be fretting about the future course of the imperial family and what the Japanese imperial system should be like.’‘

As stated by the Japanese Constitution, the emperor serves as a symbol of the state, and has no authority over national political affairs.

The medical exams, conducted after the 74-year-old emperor had to cancel some official duties last week due to irregular pulse and high blood pressure, found traces of bleeding and erosion all over his stomach and duodenum, and the supervisor partly attributed the stomach symptoms to mental stress.

‘‘His majesty has felt distress over many matters and I believe he has just patiently held himself back,’’ Kanazawa said.

One close aide said the emperor’s stomach was ‘‘unscathed like that of a child’’ in health exams five to six years ago.

The aide suggested the emperor’s distress has grown over the past few years, especially after a controversial remark by Crown Prince Naruhito, his eldest son, regarding his reclusive wife, Crown Princess Masako.

In December 2003, the crown princess, who celebrated her 45th birthday Tuesday, largely retreated from public view mainly due to physical and mental distress, and has skipped most of her official duties since then.

Amid little signs of recovery in her condition, Crown Prince Naruhito said at a press conference in May 2004, ‘‘It is true that there were developments that denied Princess Masako’s career as well as her personality driven by her career.’‘

The remarks sparked public controversy and are believed to have widened the gulf with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, which had already developed because of an imperial succession crisis.

Crown Princess Masako, a Harvard and Oxford-educated former diplomat who married the crown prince in 1993, had long been under pressure to bear a male heir, as no boys had been born to the imperial family since the birth in 1965 of Prince Akishino, the crown prince’s younger brother.

Although the situation abated after Princess Kiko, the wife of Prince Akishino, gave birth in 2006 to Prince Hisahito, the issue weighed heavily on the emperor, as he had been worried that it may split public opinion in two, according to some sources.

A government panel on imperial succession crafted a report in 2005 that proposes allowing females and their descendants to ascend the throne and the government was to prepare a bill to revise the 60-year-old Imperial House Law, while opponents criticized the move as leading to the effective end of the imperial regime.

Emperor Akihito has also displayed disappointment over a lack of opportunities to see his granddaughter, Princess Aiko, the daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako.

Imperial Household Agency chief Shingo Haketa then advised earlier this year that Crown Prince Naruhito visit the emperor and empress along with his family more often at the Imperial Palace.

Amid a string of reports over the emperor’s health problems in recent years, calls had already been growing that his official duties be cut back and that he rests more.

The emperor underwent surgery to remove prostate cancer in January 2003, and was diagnosed in February this year as being prone to brittle-bone disease due to a side effect of hormone treatment for the prostate cancer.

Emperor Akihito will turn 75 on Dec 23. The medical supervisor, Kanazawa, said he has proposed to the agency that his duties related to his birthday events should also be reduced as well.

› Login to comment

7 Comments

JmannGod at 10:07 PM JST - 12th December

yawn...don't care!
jeancolmar at 12:22 AM JST - 13th December

Life in the golden cage: the dysfunctional imperial family. I truly feel sorry for those people, especially Princess Masako who had her life ruined by her marriage. I do hope something comes up to relieve their stress, but with the way the system works that seems impossible.
herefornow at 07:43 AM JST - 13th December

How far the "mighty" have fallen. This country went to war -- and hundreds of thousands gave their lives -- in belief that the cause of the Emperor was worth sacrificing their lives for. Now the poor guy is reduced to watching birds and looking at flowers -- and has stress anyway. When will this country wake up and stop pouring money into this dysfunctional family? The return on investment is near zero.
GlowingStar at 10:02 PM JST - 14th December

herefornow, I think you don't really understand Japanese culture. It's different from other countries because they follow cultures since the beginning of their existing times from their ancients. The Emperor and The Empress of their existing time is so important because they have the blood of royals and believe to be the descendants of their goddess Amaterasu, she is the goddess of the sun. Means she is a spiritual being more powerful than human beings. I believe their myths are true. You can research "LEMURIA OR THE LAND OF MU" believe to be their paradisical place before" our cradle of culture and the existence of human being. Who knows? if you're an american Indian? you have the bloods of the Shamans and existing spiritual power. Emperors and Empresses are their paternal and maternal figure of their civilization.
bdiego at 03:47 PM JST - 16th December

They need to let the Emperor watch more TV and buy him a Wii. It's quite ironic and a shame that someone went to Harvard only to end up here. Honestly the average person would have just divorced and left, but obviously there's too much publicity and taboo for that to happen. So they're trapped, all trapped.
jeancolmar at 11:02 PM JST - 16th December

It really is time to put the dysfunctional imperial family out of their misery. Get rid of the monarchy and turn this place into a republic. Give the ex-royals generous pensions and let them live their lives peacefully as they see fit. If they want to work let them. If they want to veg-out they can do that too at our expense. The poor critters deserve it.

Meanwhile, I do sincerely hope that Akahito returns to having a healthy belly, the poor, poor old man.

How times have changed. The worst victims of the emperor system are the royals.
DoctorLady at 01:45 PM JST - 18th December

Once again, the two main causes are the stress of succession (because the Emperor wants Princess Aiko to be able to ascend to the throne) and the IHA's mistreatment.