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Too much secrecy over Masako's health

Absence, when prolonged, becomes a kind of presence. Princess Masako is a case in point. Five years ago, she withdrew from the public eye, reportedly under enormous stress.

That is understandable. A Harvard-educated multilingual diplomat, she would naturally have found the tradition-bound ways of the Imperial Household, into which she married in 1993, hard to get used to. Her hopes of combining imperial marriage with a diplomatic career foundered.

Pressure on her to produce a male heir to the throne was unrelenting. Shortly after the birth of her only child, Princess Aiko, in December 2001, Masako renounced almost all public functions on grounds of ill health. Since then, as far as the public is concerned, little has changed. 

Why is Masako’s condition veiled in secrecy, demands Shukan Shincho (Dec 20). This month, shortly after her 44th birthday, the palace medical team attending her delivered its annual progress report. It will sound familiar to anyone who remembers the previous one, or the one before that. “She still tires easily after activity,” the magazine quotes the doctors as saying, “but compared to the way she was before, her recovery seems to be accelerating.” 

Shukan Shincho compares this to the past three reports. In December 2006 we were told, “It is a slow process, but the princess is heading toward recovery.” In December 2005, it was, “Her health is steadily improving” And in December 2004: “At present, her health is advancing toward recovery.”  

She was, to be sure, more visible this year than in the recent past. In June, she attended the National Green Protection Meeting in Nagano Prefecture; and in October she traveled to Tokushima Prefecture for the People’s Culture Festival. But even present, she is largely absent, says Shukan Shincho, citing the sudden cancellation of a factory tour and meeting with local notables in Nagano and an abruptly scrapped lunch in Tokushima. On both occasions, the princess’ indisposition was the official explanation. 

This suggests that her attendance or non-attendance at this or that function is determined on a day-to-day basis, depending on how she feels. And yet her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, has already announced, six months ahead of time, that he will be traveling to Brazil next June on his own. “This sounds serious,” declares Shukan Shincho. 

Of course, the imperial establishment justifies its secrecy on the grounds of protecting Masako’s privacy. This is fair enough but, in a sense, self-defeating. The more evident it is that something is being hidden, the grimmer that hidden something begins to appear. The psychologist who tells the magazine that Masako’s symptoms could indicate clinical depression proves the point. The psychologist has not examined the patient and makes no claim to be doing anything other than speculating — but such speculation will naturally be rife. 

This is all the more true, Shukan Shincho notes, given earlier instances of relative openness regarding imperial illnesses. When the emperor was operated on in January 2003 for prostate cancer, the public was given detailed medical reports; likewise when the crown prince had an intestinal polyp removed last June. Therefore, the magazine concludes, Masako’s medical team “should present us with a full explanation” of what is going on. 

December 21, 2007

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Too much secrecy over Masako's health
Badsey   (Dec 22 2007 - 20:41)	Rate | Report

Depression
fatcow242   (Dec 27 2007 - 10:00)	Rate | Report

Not news
longtallm   (Jan 6 2008 - 00:54)	Rate | Report

Too much secrecy over Masako's health
denshadego   (Jan 9 2008 - 12:51)	Rate | Report

Too much secrecy over Masako's health
frontandcentre   (Jan 10 2008 - 16:24)	Rate | Report

I think it has more
player   (Jan 17 2008 - 12:43)	Rate | Report

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