Why Japanese prince left his wife behind

Naruhito is the first-born child of Japanese Emperor Akihito and Princess Michiko’s three children.

As the Emperor’s first-born son, the 50-year-old Crown Prince is the heir apparent to the Japanese throne. Emperor Akihito’s other son is Prince Akishino Fumihito born on November 11, 1965. An only daughter, Princess Nori, was born on April 18, 1969.

The birth of Prince Naruhito’s only child after eight years of anxious waiting by the Imperial palace and the entire Japanese nation sparked a lively succession debate when a son failed to arrive. The daughter, named Aiko, (Princess Toshi) was born on December 1, 2001.

Pressure mounted internally from the imperial family and the public for Masako to bear a son. So much was the pressure two year ago that Prince Naruhito had to seek ‘public understanding’ for his wife, who went into a form of depression known as ‘adjustment disorder’ due to pressure to give birth a male heir.

Prince Naruhito was quoted on July 11, 2008, saying: "I would like the public to understand that Masako is continuing to make her utmost efforts with the help of those around her. Please continue to watch over her kindly and over the long-term."

Younger brother

Pressure eased on Masako when Princess Kiko, the wife of Naruhito’s younger brother, Prince Akishino, had a baby boy in 2006. The boy, Hisahito, is now third in line to the throne.

In the meantime, Naruhito’s failure to have a son ignited debate on whether the imperial law should be changed to a allow a woman to inherit the throne.

The debate that is yet to be concluded was about whether the Imperial household law of 1947 should be changed to allow a woman to ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne that has so far been occupied by 125 males. Emperor Akihito succeeded his father, Emperor Hirohito on November 12, 1990.

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi used part of his keynote speech to address the controversy when, on January 20, 2006, he pledged to submit a Bill to Parliament seeking to have women ascend to the throne to allow a smooth and stable continuation of the tradition.

Legislation

Koizumi, however, did not announce a timing for the legislation to be introduced, neither did he provide details of its content, noting only that it would be in line with the conclusions of the 2005 Government panel.

Controversy surrounding the imperial succession mounted in January, 2007, when then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced he would drop the proposal to alter the age-old Imperial Household Law that allowed men only to ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne, making it unlikely that Princess Aiko would ever become an empress.

Princess Masako, in the meantime, continue to struggle to adjust to royal life, skipping most public duties over the past five years, although she has attended several public functions in Japan with her husband.

A former career diplomat, she is said to be a former shadow of herself, trapped in the demands of a tradition where the emperor was once worshipped like a living deity.

In Kenya, Prince Naruhito who arrived in a private jet visited endangered rhinos at Ol Pajeta game sanctuary near Nanyuki town before planting a tree with Nobel Peace laureate Prof Wangari Maathai.

The prince, dressed in casual clothes and open shoes, started the second day of his visit with an early morning game drive at the Ol Pajeta reserve, which abounds in most grazing animals of the plains and predators.

He visited rhino enclosures in the park, fed a blind black rhino called Baraka saw two female white rhinos named Fatu and Najin, that were donated by a Czech zoo in December.

Photographs

The prince took numerous photographs of the animals and at one time walked up to a small crowd of local people who had gathered to welcome him waving flags and greeted them in Kiswahili.

His convoy was made up of a large convoy of four-wheel drive vehicles carrying his massive security detail.