Crown Princess Masako's adjustment disorder

[Mermaid1962]

Agreed. The IHA definitely has an image problem.

Originally Posted by Mirabel

Instead of denial, they should try to spin the stories so they have a positive rather than a negative impact. (Masako's fertility treatment, for example, would create sympathy if it was presented as her great desire to have a child).

[ChiaraC]

Originally Posted by Mermaid1962

I wonder what sort of "trouble" that could possibly be? Thugs from the IHA showing up in black suits?

There is, for example, the famous story of photographer Toshiaki Nakayama. In 1990, he took a very nice pic of the Akishino couple while they were preparing for their wedding photo, a pic that the IHA thought was inappropriate. When the photo was distributed for publication, the agency issued a vehement protest. Instead of supporting Nakayama, his peers at the press club denounced him. Disillusioned with the state of Japanese journalism, the photographer resigned from the wire service nine months later.

As the article states, there are incidents that seem to indicate that there might be a problem with the freedom of Japanese media in general. See for example the following story:

My wife Keiko and I host a weekly talk show on local radio in Western Tokyo that tries to take a jaundiced, opinionated approach to the clash of East versus West. Just before Christmas 2000 we talked briefly about a trip we had made a year earlier to Nanjing[i] in China, the site of a notorious massacre by the Japanese imperial army at the end of 1937. […] Thirty minutes after the show was broadcast, three members of a local "political group" arrived at the studio and asked to see the management. […] Two days later the senior station manager called a meeting. [...] He said we would need to apologize over the air for the Nanjing comment. If we didn't, the men and their friends would drive their gaisensha, or black sound trucks, outside our sponsors (two ramen, or Chinese noodle, restaurants, a bar, and a couple of real estate agents) and harass them until they withdrew their support. Violence was unlikely, but he couldn't rule it out. He apologized again for asking us to apologize. He handed us a sheet of paper the station had prepared for us to read on the next show. It said that we humbly apologized for the "inappropriate comments" (futekisetsu na hyogen ) we had made the previous week.

My wife and I were stunned. Far from being angry at a crude, thuggish attempt to shut down a public discussion, the station's management had gone along with the rightist's suggestions and upped the ante, out-censoring the censors by requesting an end to all political discussion. While we argued over the next couple of days about whether to call the station's bluff, about a dozen faxes arrived at the studio in response to our comments, all of them supportive. [...] All messages ended with pleas to continue, to take courage, and to stick it out. ...
In the weeks following the uyoku visit, there were two more incidents of censorship at the radio station. […] When we challenged him [the station director] on this he said that his role, as the director of a small radio station, was to protect the jobs of himself and his staff, not to support abstract concepts of free speech. He couldn't do this if the uyoku bankrupted him.

The imperial family seems to be one of the main taboo themes for the media:

The heavy hand of the Imperial Household Agency ensures that salaried journalists self-censor reports to portray an airbrushed view of the Emperor and the Imperial Family. And newspaper editorial writers better start looking for a new job if they even consider writing a piece questioning the relevance of the monarchy in today’s world.

One has to know that there is an “Imperial Household Agency press club”. The journalists registered in this club have exclusive access to briefings by agency officials and imperial family members, and usually prepare their questions collectively before submitting them for vetting, shunning most sensitive issues. If they do not cooperate to the satisfaction of the IHA, they lose their membership in the press club. As a result, those journalists of the inner circle know a lot but they are not free to write it. “I probably put in writing less than one-tenth of one-percent of what I see and hear.“, said one of these journalists. „For a writer, that’s a kind of torture. It’s a real struggle to slow yourself down and just learn to watch.” And sometimes when they cannot bear it any longer they leak their information to the Western media... (For more about the imperial press system see this blog.)

And incidentally, Mirabel, there is a writer and media commentator, Naoki Inose, who would quite agree with you in that the IHA is not especially good as a public relations agency. Inose „believes that the bureaucrats of the Imperial Household Agency made a serious mistake by forcing Masako into a conservative role. At the time of her marriage to Naruhito, Masako was seen as figure to whom modern Japanese women could relate. An intelligent and internationally minded working woman, she was the Imperial family's chance to renew itself for the times.”

[blauerengel]

I wonder how Japanese people think about the work of the IHA?Or maybe they have other worries now than the Imperial family...

Here´s a relatively new article dealing with Princess Masako:Japan's troubled royals put up a brave front | The Japan Times Online
I don´t give up hope that she will find special people who can support her to recover and regain her strength and confidence.If she had more influence and freedom of action she could be a driving force of change to modernize the Royal family and make it more appealing to a younger audience.What I have heard,most people in Japan don´t feel a strong connection with the Imperial family...

[ChiaraC]

Originally Posted by blauerengel

I wonder how Japanese people think about the work of the IHA?Or maybe they have other worries now than the Imperial family...

Well, I think one would have to consider that it is probably the IHA´s goal to convey a certain image to the public without the public even becoming aware that it is a manipulated image, not necessarily the reality. At least for those Japanese who rely on Japanese media for their information, I´d suppose that it works, for the reasons explained in my previous post. See also the following story from another forum:

One of my best friends is half-Japanese and he told me that none of his extended family in Tokyo has any idea of what the IHA is really like. He sent them some stuff I'd written as well as various news paper articles from Western papers and they couldn't believe it. They seriously could NOT and would NOT believe it. So, he kept sending them stuff I dug up and finally, they started to question all the things they'd been fed in their domestic papers. One of the more liberal Japanese papers occasionally prints stuff in support of opening up the Imperial Family (and that's as far as they dare go) but my friend's family just thought they were being "troublemakers." Their words, not mine. They really thought that Masako was just being lazy and not following her duty because that was the gist they had gotten from a famous royal observer/journalist (who is the IHA's pet and favorite source to leak to.)

Originally Posted by blauerengel

Here´s a relatively new article dealing with Princess Masako:Japan's troubled royals put up a brave front | The Japan Times Online
I don´t give up hope that she will find special people who can support her to recover and regain her strength and confidence.If she had more influence and freedom of action she could be a driving force of change to modernize the Royal family and make it more appealing to a younger audience.What I have heard,most people in Japan don´t feel a strong connection with the Imperial family...

On one hand there definitely seem to be concerns that the IF could become irrelevant, especially with younger people.

“Interest in the Imperial Family in Japan is low and declining. Most young people do not even know the name of the man who is married to Princess Masako.” Source

“`I dare say that youngsters have not much interest in or knowledge of the Imperial Family's background and history, or even the Emperor as a symbolic ruler,´said Takao Toshikawa, a Tokyo-based political analyst." Source

"The Japanese Imperial family is undergoing a quiet crisis. [...] A long-term problem is that, if not actively disliked, more and more the Imperial family is simply ignored. Some commentators believe that public indifference to the Imperial family is the result of its growing irrelevance to modern Japan. They say it needs to find a new role for itself before the Japanese public loses interest completely." Source

On the other hand, polls use to show that the approval rate for the imperial family is still very high. Maybe one could try to sum things up by saying that the attitude of the majority of Japanese towards their royals is one of friendly disinterest. But, of course, it is always dangerous to make generalizations regarding the views of such a quantity of people. I have noticed that while the public battles among members of the imperial family may indeed not help the reputation of the monarchy, they definitely seem to give (at least some) people a feeling that they can relate to what emperor and empress, princes and princesses are going through.

Jin Ito, editor in chief of Shukan Josei, a variety magazine for women said,

Articles on the imperial family are widely read because such ordinary problems as child-rearing and delicate relations with in-laws that seem to plague the imperial family make readers feel relieved. The difficult environment facing the crown princess is being viewed as a result of generational conflicts with the traditional way of life at the imperial family. Women in their 30s and 40s, who are our readership base, naturally relate to the problems facing Masako.

Asahi staff writer Hiroshi Matsubara seems to suggest that while women of Masako´s age group tend to sympathize with the crown princess, elder women who belong to the generation of her mother-in-law are prone to criticizing Masako. He quotes a 68-year-old woman in Yachiyo, Chiba Prefecture who compares the situation in her own family to that of Japan´s royals:

"I put up with a lot of things while living together with my parents-in-law for over 40 years, but I took care of them until they died at 90 and 98," she said. "But my son and daughter-in-law visit our place twice a year at most, although I and my husband desperately want to see our granddaughters."

She said her son and daughter-in-law never really consulted her on big decisions, such as working after giving birth.
"They may say it is a generation thing, but if anybody in a family is too self-oriented and assertive, the relationship among the entire family may go bad. I guess even the imperial family is no exception. I feel kind of relieved because it looks like even they have similar problems that we have."

In traditional Asian families, elderly parents use to have a very strong position and their children and children-in-law are expected to treat them with high respect, to follow their advice and not make much of the sacrifices that may be requested of them (i. e. the children).
But times change, apparently also in Japan.

[Charlotte1]

Originally Posted by ChiaraC

There is, for example, the famous story of photographer Toshiaki Nakayama. In 1990, he took a very nice pic of the Akishino couple while they were preparing for their wedding photo, a pic that the IHA thought was inappropriate. When the photo was distributed for publication, the agency issued a vehement protest. Instead of supporting Nakayama, his peers at the press club denounced him. Disillusioned with the state of Japanese journalism, the photographer resigned from the wire service nine months later.

You have got this story wrong! The photographer did indeed take this photo at the Akishino wedding. The photo was printed in the Japanese press, the IHA press office thought the photo too informal and intimate and wouldn't allow the photo to be released to the western press. A British journalist wrote a story about it as an example of press censorship in Japan when it came to the western press organisations. The Japanese photographer had his credentials revoked (by the IHA press office, he wasn't denounced!) But this is an old, old story for goodness sake, it was over 20 years ago! Not even IHA press office officials are immortal and they do retire! So what was considered inappropriate over 20 years ago was the judgement of that time, considering the picture is around it certainly wasn't complete censorship! And in 1990 it was published in Japan!

Yes there does exist a press club for interviewing the Imperial Family, BUT there also exists a press club for politicians as well! One of the major complaints that Foreign correspondents in Japan have is that the Japanese press club is a 'closed shop' meaning that non Japanese journalists have no access to Japanese politicians press conferences, it's not just the Imperial Family ones.

Originally Posted by Mirabel
Instead of denial, they should try to spin the stories so they have a positive rather than a negative impact. (Masako's fertility treatment, for example, would create sympathy if it was presented as her great desire to have a child).

This needs to be seen in the context of Japanese society, Japan has one of the developed world's lowest uptake of IVF. There is a huge amount of shame and 'it's not natural' around it. Couples would rather not have children then go through IVF. Plus factor in too, the privacy issues. Masako after her miscarriage commented in a birthday interview that she was not happy about the way the media had discussed her medical problems. This message is still coming through now in regards to the media (and message board!) discussion of her current mental health problems. Her desire to preserve some kind of privacy in her life and it not be served up on a platter to all to comment on. She's not going to be the poster child for infertility or mental health issues as these are invasions of her privacy.

One of my best friends is half-Japanese and he told me that none of his extended family in Tokyo has any idea of what the IHA is really like. He sent them some stuff I'd written as well as various news paper articles from Western papers and they couldn't believe it. They seriously could NOT and would NOT believe it. So, he kept sending them stuff I dug up and finally, they started to question all the things they'd been fed in their domestic papers.

But you're assuming what you're finding out in the western press (which also uses tabloid information from some Asian although not Japanese sources) as accurate information!! If non Japanese media have no access to the Imperial Family and the press office won't speak to them, then they are reliant on second hand information with no way of knowing exactly how accurate it is! It becomes a game of Chinese whispers with tabloid information being passed on as real information.

[Mirabel]

Originally Posted by ChiaraC

In traditional Asian families, elderly parents use to have a very strong position and their children and children-in-law are expected to treat them with high respect, to follow their advice and not make much of the sacrifices that may be requested of them (i. e. the children).
But times change, apparently also in Japan.

Yes; it sounds as if that woman who put up with catering to her in-laws for many years feels quite a bit of resentment- more like a feeling of entitlement that now it's her turn to make her daughter-in-law miserable!

I'm glad things are changing to that extent.

[ChiaraC]

Originally Posted by Mirabel

... it sounds as if that woman who put up with catering to her in-laws for many years feels quite a bit of resentment- more like a feeling of entitlement that now it's her turn to make her daughter-in-law miserable!

Honestly, I have received the same impression as you. It is, of course, important to respect ancient wisdom and tradition but, as you say, this should not serve as an excuse to pass on misery from generation to generation.

[Mirabel]

Originally Posted by ChiaraC

Honestly, I have received the same impression as you. It is, of course, important to respect ancient wisdom and tradition but, as you say, this should not serve as an excuse to pass on misery from generation to generation.

Some traditions should be discarded.

And I'm no believer in the premise that wisdom automatically comes with age.
If someone is mean and stupid when young, it's my belief s/he'll be mean and stupid when old!

[ChiaraC]

Originally Posted by Mirabel

Some traditions should be discarded.

And I'm no believer in the premise that wisdom automatically comes with age.
If someone is mean and stupid when young, it's my belief s/he'll be mean and stupid when old!

That is indeed true. Although all people have imo the inherent potential to change for the better, a lot of them do not seem to especially care to make any use of this potential...

I just wanted to express that I think it also important to shun the other extreme: things are not necessarily good because they are new or modern. Sometimes so-called modern things can be pretty silly or cruel, too.

Besides, I appreciate it that the crown prince and princess make a point of getting their daughter acquainted with traditional Japanese customs, such as pounding mochi (a Japanese rice cake), playing Hanetsuki (Japanese traditional game, similar to badminton) and cards, and also calligraphy practice. Cultural heritage can represent an important form of wealth. But that does not mean that it would be necessary to preserve customs that tend to bring out the very worst in people (like the one we have been talking about).

[ChiaraC]

This article (Understanding Japan's complexities) in the Indian business newspaper „The Hindu Business Line” takes a look at the dynamics of modern Japanese society and mentions Crown Princess Masako´s story as an example to demonstrate the backward side of the Japanese tradition.

A modern society and the world's third largest economy, Japan is loathe to shed some of its prejudices, particularly gender-related ones. Japan greets first-time visitors with mixed signals. You are overwhelmed at their politeness and courtesy, punctuality and efficiency. The country exudes an aura of opulence and confidence; the place is spanking clean and the infrastructure extremely impressive. But it is not as though the country isn't grappling with problems of its own. […] With one of the highest lifespans in the world — 86 years for women and 81 for men — Japan has been grappling with an aging and greying population. There have been projections that by 2055, Japan's population of 128 million will shrink to 90 million. […]

[The] dignified, calm and stoic manner in which the Japanese society responded to the unprecedented trauma and damage caused by last year's earthquake and tsunami, displayed to the entire world the innate strength of the Japanese people. A very polite society, it is common for those visiting Japan to hear ordinary Japanese thanking the rest of the world “for very kindly coming to our rescue through aid; we really appreciate it.” But, then, the Japanese way of life and adherence to their tradition and values are legend. […]

But, then, traditional values are not always good or desirable. In a world where women are disadvantaged to begin with, Japanese women have been treated even more shabbily from historic times. It is well known that even though women's numbers at the workplace are improving, they are yet to be given their due place both at the workplace and home. I asked Sumiyo, if even today, Japanese women workers of equal seniority compared with their male colleagues were expected to pour out tea for the men. She smiled and neatly ducked the question by saying: “These days we have vending machines in offices, so that question does not arise!”

But I did notice one thing, and sincerely hope it has nothing to do with all our meals in Japan, as we were served at Indian restaurants for the first three days: there was no attempt to serve the women first in our 14-member group; invariably, they were the last to be served!

Perhaps, the biggest and most heated debate on the gender front in Japan pertains to the immense pressure that was put on Crown Princess Masako to bear a son, because only a male member of the royal family can inherit the throne. In 2001, when after one miscarriage, when she gave birth to a daughter, there was a glimmer of hope that this law would be changed and, in 2005, a five-member government-appointed panel recommended that it was time to do so. But in September 2006, when the Crown Prince's younger brother's wife, Princess Akishino, gave birth to a son, this debate was conveniently shelved as the imperial household got a male heir!

But what the immense pressure on Princess Masako to bear a male heir did to the health and psyche of this very talented and accomplished Harvard graduate and former diplomat, is not a tale any Japanese or, for that matter, any woman, would be proud of. For several years, she has reportedly suffered from ill health and depression and stopped making public appearances. On the one hand, you have such glaring examples and, on the other, you notice how tech-savvy the Japanese society has become. […]

My takeaway from Japan will be its people's amazingly polite and helpful nature — seek directions on the road from a Japanese and he will walk along to show you the way — their discipline and efficiency. A modern society and the world's third largest economy.. and yet loathe to shed some of its prejudices, particularly gender-related ones.