There is reason to suppose that there was a very serious political background to this bitchy media gossip:
"No one believes the stories about Michiko," a Japanese reporter who covers the royalty said over the weekend. "And no one believes the palace's explanation that she is all right, and just needs some rest. There is something else going on." Some Japanese professing to understand the bizarre court politics of the palace say Michiko's habits are not the issue at all. Instead, they argue that it is a smoke screen for far more fundamental criticism about the direction in which she and Emperor Akihito have taken the Chrysanthemum Throne since they were formally enthroned in 1990. […] Some believe the nastiest comments were directed at Michiko because in Japan one still dares not find fault with the Emperor.
If that conspiracy theory is correct, and it is just one of many floating around, Michiko may have fallen victim to the latest subterranean battle between conservatives who want the Japanese imperial family to stay as it was -- remote, untouchable and mysterious -- and those trying to modernize its image. So far, the modernizers have scored all the points.
Though Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are hardly revolutionaries -- they say precious little beyond bland expressions of good will -- they have definitely set a different tone from that of Hirohito, the wartime leader whose every utterance seemed only to muddy the question of what he really thought. […] A year ago this month Akihito became the first Japanese ruler ever to visit China, speaking along the way of the "unbearable suffering" Japan inflicted there. Earlier this year he visited Okinawa, an island chain whose residents feel they were sacrificed by the Japanese Government in a last-ditch effort to save the mainland from the invading American forces in 1945.
The right wing was angered anew, though it could not say so publicly, by the selection of Masako Owada as the Crown Princess, and thus the next Empress. The Crown Princess does not descend from the "daimyo" families, Japan's old feudal lords, but from a family that represents Japan's new elite, educated as she was at Harvard and Oxford.
The ultranationalist Shinzo Abe is presently Japan´s prime minister and he is pursuing one of conservatives` favourite goals: to (finally!) revise Japan´s pacifist post-war constitution and
change the emperor´s title from ‘symbol’ to ‘Head of State’. Japan, so far, does not have an official head of state. The emperor was demoted at the end of the war from a "living god" to a mere "symbol of the state". The reason for this measure was that the war had been begun, countries had been invaded and atrocities committed in the name of this very imperial "divine being", and the US-occupiers, accordingly, thought it necessary to radically change the tenno´s role and function, so he would be able to serve henceforth as the peaceful symbol of a modern democracy. To declare him the head of state could, even today, seem provocative to Japan´s neighbouring countries because it might be understood as a sign that Japan is planning, at least to some degree, to return to the old nationalist pre-war ways.
For Japanese conservatives it is, on the other hand, a darling project to give at least some of the political power back to the emperor that he used to wield in the Meiji era. This does not mean that they actually want the individual who happens to occupy the throne to have more power - Japan has a longstanding political tradition and history of sidelining the emperor, while others control power from behind the throne. Sloganeering about being loyal to the tenno was widespread in the past, and sometimes used by both of two inimical groups that were fighting for power. Too often, a closer look would have revealed that the tenno to be supported was not the individual who was actually occupying the throne but the legendary first tenno Jimmu I have already mentioned above. The authority of the tenno rather served as a justification for whatever measures were taken in his name. That means that it is, traditionally, not that important what sort of person the tenno is as long as he does not stand in the way of the people who actually rule the country. (For more on this issue please see
here.)
The problem is - for ultraconservatives - that neither Akihito nor Naruhito really fit their purpose. By granting one of them more political power, conservatives would, in a certain way, just have managed to shoot themselves in the foot by realizing their plans: It is pretty clear that neither Akihito nor Naruhito would ever use this power in the interest of conservatives or would be willing to serve as mere token figureheads.
Unfortunately for ultraconservatives, there is not much they can do against Akihito. Fortunately for them, it is to be supposed that he will not be around to disturb them for many decades more as he will turn eighty this year. But it is certainly, from their point of view, a goal well worth fighting for to weaken Naruhito as much as possible, or to even get rid of him and replace him by his more cooperative brother. In this context, it is interesting to note that Akishino has taken great pains to present himself as the „Shinto-friendly alternative“ lately. (As often in Japan, there is a double meaning to "Shinto" - on one hand, Shinto is just a set of religious practices and rituals, based on the indigenous spirituality of the Japanese people and used by most Japanese at certain points in their lives. But on the other hand, "State Shinto" was once a powerful instrument in the hands of early 19th century militarists, who used it to glorify their policy of aggression that, finally, led to World War II.)
Last autumn, Akishino, along with his wife, took Hisahito to visiting the tomb of Emperor Jimmu. (As I have said before, Jimmu is one of the most important symbols of nationalists, and Akishino´s visit is rendered even more remarkable by the fact that Jimmu´s tomb does not belong to those that are most often frequented by members of the imperial family.) In March, Akishino went to visit the tomb of wartime Emperor Hirohito, and recently, he went with his family to Ise Grand Shrine. (One should mention that the shrine buildings at Ise are rebuilt every 20 years. The next scheduled rebuilding is due in autumn and the opening ceremony is traditionally an occasion where the conservative political and intellectual elite use to meet.) This time, Akishino took also Kako to the site, but imo already the fact that he left her at home when they visited the emperors` tombs gives us a clear message that will be much to the liking of ultraconservatives: girls are not really important for the imperial line...
I suppose that the abdication debate is very painful to Naruhito. I do not think that anybody can actually force him to give up his succession right, and I strongly doubt that he will relent under the pressure (as I said, there is nothing for him (or his family) to gain anyway by giving in). But they can hardly keep this whole debate a secret from Masako, and I am afraid she will worry because she will feel, again, like a hindrance to her husband and feel an immense pressure to recover as quickly as possible. And what pressure does to her, we already all know.
But as far as Japan and the Japanese are concerned, I think they are
very lucky indeed that their next emperor will, in spite of everything, probably be called Naruhito. As I mentioned in the other thread, there are happening strange things in Japan that may even concern the international community. Roger Pulvers, an author, playwright, theater director and translator who divides his time between Tokyo and Sydney,
wrote before the election last December:
If Abe becomes the next prime minister, the threat of Japan becoming involved in another “stupid war” becomes real.
Since then, Abe
has become the next prime minister, and considering the fact that Japan is surrounded by countries like China, South and, notably, North Korea (that are not exactly angels of peace themselves), one might well have worries regarding the region´s future.
) that in this way it might be easier to find a compromise.
)
I think, in most, if not all European monarchies women had some sort of succession right, at least in case there was no male successor available, and even if they could not ascend themselves, their sons theoretically could. We are not used to how things are presently in Japan.
