I don't usually reply but this seems to be a direct insult, in my opinion, against the crwon princely couple.. We have seen TRH Akishino and Kiko taking trips to Roumania and now they are going to the Netherlands. It doesn't seem right that they should be representing JApan. I know that CP Masako is not as well. But she has been to the Netherlands in a private capacity. It just seems that the crown princely couple should have gone to Holland.
I agree with you. Of course, we can always only guess what is happening behind the scenes. But it is a fact that in the years after their marriage the crown couple – unlike the Akishinos and also unlike the former Princess Sayako - was hardly ever sent abroad, in spite of Masako´s professional abilities and perfect health (at the time), but that they were scheduled for a trip to New Zealand and Australia nearly as soon as Aiko was born. That looks to me very much like a prompt reward for “compliance” with the IHA´s wishes, and that raises the suspicion that the previous “house arrest” (as a Japanese newspaper termed it) had been meant as some sort of punishment or pressure. And if it was so at the time, why should it not be meant as such by now? (And the crown couple was, before Aiko’s birth, doing very few appointments INSIDE JAPAN, as well – the reason for this being, according to my information, that they were, much against their inclination, simply not scheduled for more. Details see here:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f84/a-german-book-about-crown-princess-masako-16054.html, postings #10 and #11 So, if Masako does not appear in public, we can never be certain if that is still due to her health or if she is simply refused the opportunity to do more.)
And there is something else: I have carefully read the transcripts of the imperial press conferences as far as they are available in English. It is very interesting to compare the Akishinos’ way of doing them with that of the crown prince. The crown prince never fails to give typical little stories about Aiko, for example how she reenacted the sumo wrestling techniques she had observed in tv with her parents (or with staff members of the crown prince household – I WOULD have liked to watch that
), or how she grieved about the death of her dog. From the Akishino-press conferences, on the other hand, it is very hard to draw any stories that would give you an idea of the personality and the life of his daughters. For example, when their parents took them to visit Thailand and see the king and queen, we are informed that they “seemed to enjoy it”. No cute comment, no nothing. There are certainly reasons for this that lie in the personalities of Akishino and the crown prince but that is not my point here. The difference has political significance, and I am sure the crown prince is absolutely aware of that. The Akishinos’ way is much more “political correct” in terms of imperial tradition of how to deal with the public. By Japan´s ultranationalists, the imperial family is still expected to appear “distant”, not too human, or better: not human at all, to their people. (Whereas the “normal” Japanese, like the rest of the world, tend to be rather charmed by discovering an individual trait in their royals, as can be noticed when remembering how very popular the “banned” wedding photo of the Akishinos became.) As an example, the IHA never wanted to give out information about the royals’ pets. We can only guess how much the crown couple had to struggle when they wanted to give credit where credit is due and tell the public how much their spirit had been uplifted by the company of their faithful dogs. Besides, the crown prince still says in his news conferences “rebellious” things like: “We would appreciate it if more privacy could be allowed to us.” (Birthday press conference in February)
So, I think it absolutely possible that the IHA has another reason for their preference to send the Akishinos abroad: If Japanese royals take a trip abroad, they are due to give a press conference. Of course, it is impossible to completely inhibit the crown prince from giving press conferences. But IHA executives might feel that the less opportunity he has of speaking to the public, the better.
but this time she looks very well.
He looks curious and serious when he patted and held the animals.
