Profile: The Emperor and Empress of Japan The Japanese royal family is not without controversy, but while its members maintain many of their traditions it might be time for a change, writes Judith Crosbie in Tokyo
There will be no affairs to hide or questions on Camilla-type marriages to avoid when the Emperor and Empress of Japan arrive in Ireland today. And you won't hear Emperor Akihito giving out about having to answer questions from "bloody" journalists, as Britain's Prince Charles was recently overheard saying.
In many ways the members of the Japanese imperial family are the antithesis of their British counterparts. While the British royals have seen their images tainted through various scandals and broken marriages the Japanese royals remain revered.
This does not mean, however, that they are without controversy.
The last time they visited Ireland 20 years ago was as crown prince and princess and by all accounts both royals, in particular Empress Michiko, have a fondness for Ireland especially when it comes to literature. Since then the wartime emperor Hirohito has passed away and a new style of imperial rule has taken over.
Emperor Akihito was only 11 years old when the second World War ended with his father's announcement of surrender on radio. For many Japanese people, to hear the immortal words of the emperor announcing Japan's defeat after years of what was considered glorious plundering of Asia was shocking. Until then the emperor was considered divine and the father of the nation. The Nobel Prize laureate Kenzaburo Oe has recalled in his novels the fear instilled in classrooms during that time, when children were afraid even to glance at the portrait of the emperor on the wall.
But Emperor Akihito received his formative education in war-weary Japan when pacifism was at its height. For the first time, the crown prince was educated along with other children and was tutored by American Quaker Elizabeth Vining, who made sure he was treated no better than the other pupils.
His marriage to Michiko, the daughter of a flour company owner, brought the imperial family closer to the public as it was the first time a future emperor had married a commoner. The "love-match", formed through meetings on tennis courts, was also a new departure as up to then imperial marriages had been arranged. The couple's televised wedding, their affection displayed in public and their insistence on bringing up their children in their home also made them seem more human and down to earth.
But where many royal families in Europe have lost even more of their taboos and old traditions the Japanese imperial family have maintained theirs. The Imperial Household Agency controls the movements of the family and each engagement is carefully choreographed.
Hidehiko Kasahara, a professor of political science at Tokyo's Keio University and author of a book on the royal family, says these bureaucrats are determined not to see the system change that would result in them losing power. "They would like to see a certain distance between the imperial family and the nation," he says. In particular, he argues that security is too tight around the imperial family, preventing the public getting to see the royal family up close.
REPORTERS FROM THE major Japanese newspapers who form the imperial press club follow the activities of the royals closely but are careful when reporting on controversial issues, thereby maintaining the aura around the family.
At a tea party last year, the emperor touched on a sensitive topic when he said he did not think teachers should be forced to stand for the Japanese anthem or flag at school ceremonies. The issue relates to the country's wartime past and some teachers, especially from Hiroshima, have been fired for refusing to stand for the national emblems. An imperial reporter for a major Japanese newspaper, who didn't want his name used, deemed the emperor's comments were not worth carrying, despite the fact that the emblems relate directly to the imperial family (the anthem calls for the long reign of the emperor and the flag travelled with the army all over Asia as it invaded countries in the name of the imperial ruler).
"Some people who wanted to make a fuss over this issue made a fuss. The major newspapers in Japan didn't touch upon this remark by the emperor and we didn't focus on the issue," the reporter said. "Personally I didn't see that remark as such a big issue. I didn't find any significance behind it."
Indeed, it is often foreign newspapers that highlight controversies facing the royals which are only later picked up by the mainstream press. One such issue is the illness of Crown Prince Naruhito's wife, Masako. She is officially suffering from "readjustment disorder" related to difficulties with living in the imperial household after years as a high-flying career diplomat, having been educated in Harvard and the prestigious Tokyo University.
A Times article giving details of her problems caused a huge storm in the Imperial Household Agency. Her husband controversially criticised "movements" within the imperial household to stifle his wife.
THE CURRENT CRISIS over succession must also be having an effect on her. The Chrysanthemum throne allows only male accession to the throne, but no boys have been born to the royal family for 40 years. In times gone by the situation would have been remedied by employing the services of concubines.
Emperor Taisho was the son of a concubine but the practice was abandoned when his son, Hirohito, began his reign in 1926.
After six years of marriage, Princess Masako gave birth to a girl, Aiko, in 2001. It is thought unlikely the princess, now aged 41, will produce a male heir. A committee set up by the parliament is examining legislation to allow an empress to ascend the throne and ruling party politician Taro Nakayama, who chairs the committee, says he has even looked at the Swedish royal model which allows the eldest child to ascend the throne, rather than establishing male priority as in the British case.
Prof Kasahara thinks all this is probably having an effect on Princess Masako.
"A lot of people are in heated discussions about the reforms and I am sure to a certain extent the princess is under a lot of pressure because of these discussions. Also letting her only daughter become empress in the future would be a pressure for her."
Empress Michiko (71) also suffered from stress shortly after her marriage to Akihito, which is said to have been due to her treatment by bureaucrats and her mother-in-law. Emperor Akihito (72) has had health problems, undergoing treatment for prostate cancer in 2003.
One commoner who will be spared the stress of adjusting to life inside the imperial palace is Yoshiki Kuroda, a Tokyo civil servant, who will marry Princess Sayako (36), the only daughter of the emperor and empress, in the autumn. Not only are women barred from ascending the throne in Japan, they must leave the imperial house upon marrying a commoner.
For most of the Japanese public, the royal family remains a distant symbol which doesn't have an impact on their lives.
"They exist but I don't think about them much," says Keiko Nobuyoshi, a Tokyo café-owner in her 50s. "It might be nice if they seemed more human and expressed their opinions on television more. I feel sorry for them because they can't act freely," she adds.
"I don't have any feelings against the emperor, it's okay he's there, he's a good symbol," says Akiko Sakai (50) who works in Sofia University in Tokyo.
She thinks Crown Prince Naruhito should not have been critical of the imperial system for contributing to his wife's problems. "He shouldn't have said it. It's personal matter and he didn't have to say it."
Sakai has a lot of respect for Empress Michiko. "She is smart and kind. She didn't make a fuss but she changed things."
Mika Nelson (19) a student at Sofia University doesn't think it would possible to make many changes to the imperial system. "Japanese people have a pride about the image of the imperial family. It would be a disgrace to have it lowered."
But not everyone in Japan is indifferent to the imperial family. There are various ultra-nationalist groups that want the emperor to revert to divine status and which support the rebuilding of the military. Such groups can be seen around cities in black vans covered in slogans and blaring music and right-wing rhetoric. But occasionally they go further than rhetoric. In 1960 a man broke into the home of the president of a magazine publishing company after a fictional short story depicted a dream in which members of the royal family were beheaded. The company president was away but the maid was fatally stabbed and his wife was seriously injured. In 1990 the Mayor of Nagasaki was shot for suggesting Emperor Hirohito bore responsibility for the war in the Pacific. In 2000, right-wingers beat up two magazine editors for not using an honorific term when referring to Princess Masako.
Despite the fears of these groups, it is unlikely that any major changes will occur in Japan regarding the imperial family with polls showing vast support for the system and no significant interest in establishing a republic. But some change is inevitable and this is most likely to come with the dawning of Empress Aiko.
RoyalFile:
Who are they? Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan
Why are they in the news? They are visiting Ireland for the first time as emperor and empress. They will meet the Taoiseach today and President Mary McAleese on Monday. They leave for an official visit to Norway on Tuesday.
Most appealing characteristic: They were responsible for bringing about a new caring, pacifist image of the monarchy in post-war Japan
Least appealing characteristic: That new kind of monarchy only went so far and their daughter-in-law Princess Masako is suffering from stress related to life inside the imperial household
Most likely to say: War is bad
Least likely to say: We are pleased to announce we are to divorce and marry our long-time lovers