Home>News Center>World
         
 

Japanese princess said suffering disorder
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-31 10:14

Japanese Crown Princess Masako, who disappeared from public view seven months ago, is suffering from a psychological disorder brought on by the pressures of royal life, the palace said Friday.

It has long been common knowledge in Japan that Masako was unhappy, but the statement from the Imperial Household Agency was the first medical explanation for her long absence from her official duties.


Japanese Princess Aiko, right, in the arms of Crown Princess Masako, points upon their arrival at Masako's parents' house in Tokyo in this Feb 5, 2003 file photo. [AP]
The agency said Masako, 40, has a stress-induced adjustment disorder and has experienced bouts of depression and anxiety. She is undergoing counseling and taking prescription drugs.

Palace spokesman Mitsuhiro Saito said the doctors disclosed Masako's condition after getting permission from the princess and her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito.

The new revelations offer another peek at the turmoil behind the palace walls.

Naruhito, who is second-in-line to the throne, has said Masako was exhausted from trying to adjust to imperial life and the pressures of producing an heir. Masako and Naruhito, 44, have a 2-year-old daughter, but women cannot inherit the throne.

Before a European trip in May, Naruhito lashed out at palace officials for restricting his wife's activities, saying they wanted to "deny her character." He also blamed them for her ill health.

The turmoil inside palace walls has stirred calls for reform of the Imperial Household Agency, the conservative government bureaucracy that oversees palace affairs.

On Friday, the palace said its top priority was letting the princess have her private time to regain strength.

"We are considering changes to the princess' official duties," the agency said, but offered no details.

Recently, the princess has felt well enough to play tennis — a sign she is recovering, the agency said.

Japan's top government spokesman said Masako's condition didn't appear serious. "We hope the crown princess quickly recovers. I think that's what all Japanese hope for," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said.

Masako, a former diplomat who was educated at Harvard and Oxford and is fluent in several languages, has occasionally alluded to the stress of royal life since she married the crown prince in 1993. She had one miscarriage before giving birth to Princess Aiko in December 2001.

The first indication that the princess' situation had worsened came in December, when she was briefly hospitalized for shingles, a viral infection that can be induced by stress. She hasn't performed her official duties or accompanied her husband on tours since then.

A month later, Masako said in a statement that her health problems "resulted from the accumulation of mental and physical fatigue" in an unfamiliar environment over the past 10 years.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

US nationals arrested for DVD piracy

 

   
 

China, US sign deal to expand air services

 

   
 

US Chinese suspected of spying `regretful'

 

   
 

China beat Iraq 3-0 to reach Asian Cup semis

 

   
 

Ensuring clean online environment

 

   
 

Condoms to be made more widely available

 

   
  UN threatens Sudan with sanctions on Darfur
   
  Uzbek blasts hit US and Israeli embassies
   
  Pakistan's PM-designate survives assassination bid
   
  New Schwarzenegger postage stamp on sale
   
  Experts: Make a choice, condom or AIDS
   
  Japanese princess said suffering disorder
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  How Kerry Can Beat Bush  
Advertisement