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Imperial family rifts cast shadow over Akihito anniversary
Emperor Akihito marks two decades on the Japanese throne tomorrow, but the anniversary is set to pass quietly given the poor health of the monarch.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:35 January 5, 2009
Tokyo: Emperor Akihito marks two decades on the Japanese throne tomorrow, but the anniversary is set to pass quietly given the poor health of the monarch.
The 20th anniversary of the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito, comes a few weeks after Akihito, 75, cancelled his annual birthday news conference and other official duties due to high blood pressure and intestinal bleeding.
A senior official said Akihito was believed to be stressed over the future of Japan's monarchy and disputes with his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, prompting recriminations between officials from the two households.
But some experts say the problems facing the imperial household go beyond the succession and reflect a gulf between the idealised image of the institution and its reality.
"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 domestic media last month when discussing Akihito's condition.
Health concerns
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, local media said.
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.
"I think he was really ticked off," said Kenneth Ruoff, a history professor at Portland State University and author of The People's Emperor: Democracy and the Japanese Monarchy 1945-1995.
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