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Squabbles mar royal anniversary
January 6, 2009, Tuesday
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JAPANESE Emperor Akihito marks two decades on the throne tomorrow but the anniversary is set to pass quietly given the poor health of the royal family that some officials blame on internal squabbling.
The 20th anniversary of the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito, comes a few weeks after Akihito, 75, canceled his birthday news conference and other official duties due to high blood pressure and intestinal bleeding.
Akihito is believed to be stressed over the future of Japan's monarchy and disputes with his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito. But some experts say problems facing the imperial household go beyond the succession and reflect a gulf between the idealized image of the institution and its reality.
"Imperial Household Agency and East Palace (Naruhito's residence) at war," said one headline in the weekly tabloid Shukan Shincho after officials weighed in on both sides.
"Over the past few years, I have noticed that he constantly seems to be anxious about the various problems facing the imperial household, starting with the succession issue," the head of the Imperial Household Agency, Shingo Haketa, told reporters last month when discussing Akihito's condition.
Haketa went on to list issues he said were causing friction, from concern over Naruhito's own health, after he was treated for a polyp, to doubt over who was overseeing treatment for his ailing wife, Crown Princess Masako.
Other officials pointed out that Masako had also been hurt by speculation over the cause of her condition.
A former diplomat, she has been largely absent from the public eye for five years, suffering a mental disorder officials said was caused by the stress of adapting to palace life. But pressure to produce a male heir also likely played a role.
The small size of the modern imperial Japanese household has led to a dearth of male heirs, although this dilemma was temporarily resolved by the birth two years ago of Prince Hisahito to the wife of Naruhito's younger brother, Prince Akishino.
Some observers say rifts within the imperial family likely stem from Naruhito's anger that moves to change the male-only succession law to allow his only child, Princess Aiko, to take the throne, were abandoned when Akishino's wife became pregnant.
The 20th anniversary of the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito, comes a few weeks after Akihito, 75, canceled his birthday news conference and other official duties due to high blood pressure and intestinal bleeding.
Akihito is believed to be stressed over the future of Japan's monarchy and disputes with his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito. But some experts say problems facing the imperial household go beyond the succession and reflect a gulf between the idealized image of the institution and its reality.
"Imperial Household Agency and East Palace (Naruhito's residence) at war," said one headline in the weekly tabloid Shukan Shincho after officials weighed in on both sides.
"Over the past few years, I have noticed that he constantly seems to be anxious about the various problems facing the imperial household, starting with the succession issue," the head of the Imperial Household Agency, Shingo Haketa, told reporters last month when discussing Akihito's condition.
Haketa went on to list issues he said were causing friction, from concern over Naruhito's own health, after he was treated for a polyp, to doubt over who was overseeing treatment for his ailing wife, Crown Princess Masako.
Other officials pointed out that Masako had also been hurt by speculation over the cause of her condition.
A former diplomat, she has been largely absent from the public eye for five years, suffering a mental disorder officials said was caused by the stress of adapting to palace life. But pressure to produce a male heir also likely played a role.
The small size of the modern imperial Japanese household has led to a dearth of male heirs, although this dilemma was temporarily resolved by the birth two years ago of Prince Hisahito to the wife of Naruhito's younger brother, Prince Akishino.
Some observers say rifts within the imperial family likely stem from Naruhito's anger that moves to change the male-only succession law to allow his only child, Princess Aiko, to take the throne, were abandoned when Akishino's wife became pregnant.
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