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Japan emperor turns 75, pledges to care for family
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-23 16:29 TOKYO – Japanese Emperor Akihito turned 75 on Tuesday, pledging to work for the betterment of the imperial family as his worries about the state of the world's oldest monarchy inflict a toll on his own health.
Akihito, who next year marks 20 years on the Chrysanthemum Throne, cancelled a customary annual news conference and part of the ceremonies for his birthday. The son of wartime emperor Hirohito has suffered an irregular pulse in recent weeks and doctors also said this month that they had found traces of bleeding in his stomach, partly due to stress. "I feel my physical condition is getting better," Akihito said in a statement in lieu of a press conference, adding that it pains him that "matters concerning my and my family's health have been worrying people." "I would like to continue to make efforts for the sake of the country and people and in search of a better form of the imperial household, while taking the advice of doctors," he said. In the latest health worry for the monarch, the palace said Monday that part of the ceremonies for his birthday celebration would be cancelled as he had caught a cold. In an unusually open remark, Imperial Household Agency chief Shingo Haketa said this month that the emperor has seemed "worried for the past several years about the future imperial line and various other issues concerning the imperial household." Crown Princess Masako, spouse of Crown Prince Naruhito, has skipped most public duties since late 2003 as the former career woman struggles to adjust to the tradition-bound palace. "Since the crown princess is now sick, it is natural that all members of the family support her," the emperor said in the birthday remarks. "I and the empress wish to help the crown prince and princess, who will assume a heavy position in the future," he said of the future emperor and empress. Crown Prince Naruhito in 2004 took the rare step of talking about Masako's hardship, saying "there were developments that denied Princess Masako's career ... as well as her personality driven by her career." The prince declined to elaborate further but experts on royal matters translated the remark as suggesting palace minders stifled the US-educated Masako, who left a promising career as a diplomat to enter the imperial family. Haketa said on December 11 that the emperor and empress "seemed deeply hurt" by speculation that the imperial household itself is causing stress to the princess. The empress, Michiko, has also suffered from stress problems this year. |
