Crown Princess Masako Current Events Part 1: July 2005 - April 2019

[Prisma]

Support from Aiko, public behind Masako’s new confidence: The Asahi Shimbun

[...]

However, during the past year, the crown princess appeared at many events she had skipped since she went under medical treatment in 2003.

[...]

A key factor behind her recuperation and more active public life is the growth of Aiko, who turned 17 on Dec. 1, according to a source close to the family.

Aiko, along with Naruhito, appears to have become one of the closest and most reassuring sources of emotional support for Masako.

Conversations in the family have become more like those among adults than between parents and their children, the source said.

Aiko attended summer school last year at Eton College in Britain. In autumn, she was part of a dance team during a school festival at Gakushuin Girls’ Senior High School, where she also put on an impressive performance as an emcee, the source said.

During a stay at an imperial villa last summer, Aiko appeared poised and confident as she responded to questions from the media, a sign of how she has grown into a mature adult her family could depend on.

[...]

In a statement released on her birthday, Masako noted that the encouraging remarks she has received from the public during her tours to provincial areas and on other occasions have been a “major support” for her.

“More often than not, the words I hear from people feel so intimate to me,” she said in the statement. “I am also so grateful for the cordial remarks I received from many people during the garden party."

During the autumn imperial garden party in November, she walked the full route for the first time in 15 years and conversed with many of the guests.

Masako’s schedule in September was something of a surprise for reporters covering the Imperial Household Agency.

She visited Fukuoka Prefecture on an overnight trip to a community impacted by the northern Kyushu downpours in July 2017, and attended the International Youth Conference in Tokyo the following day.

Imperial Household Agency officials, out of fear of exacerbating her exhaustion, had previously never assigned Masako to go out to perform an official duty following an overnight provincial tour.

The team of doctors for the crown prince’s household, who are responsible for Masako’s treatment, said in a statement released on her birthday that her steady completion of one goal after another has allowed her to regain self-confidence and further broaden the scope of her endeavors.

[...]

[Scarebaby]

Very encouraging news. Masako deserves happiness and contentment.

[W.Y.CII]

Nice to see Masako is doing better and better with the support from her family.

[Ista]

It's wonderful to see that Masako is at the point where she is able to draw support and encouragement from others, as opposed to feeling additionally pressured by other's concern. That's a huge step forward. In addition, it seems as though Aiko is past whatever health issues it was that she faced a few years ago and that may have also helped Masako. There's nothing like the stress a parent feels when a much loved child is struggling, so Aiko doing better probably directly and indirectly helped in Masako's recovery.

[iceflower]

.

Time to close this thread. The new one can be found here.