Empress who overcame depression hints at daughter-in-law's duty to do the

[emad]

The Times
Leo Lewis reports
Coded attack implies daughter-in-law has a duty to overcome her depression


Snip
THE Japanese Empress used her 70th birthday speech yesterday to send a coded message of reproach to her daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Masako.

Although the carefully worded speech began with what appeared to be words of sympathy for Masako’s continuing health problems and the sentiment that “when a member of a family is suffering, it is a source of sadness for everyone in the family”, seasoned palace-watchers identified a distinct note of rebuke in Empress Michiko’s later turn of phrase.

She went on to defend the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), which has been the subject of direct criticism from her son the Crown Prince and, the Empress says, has been “undergoing much anxiety”.

The stress-related ill-health of the Crown Princess, and her withdrawal from public life and official duties for nearly a year, has created a clear rift within the Imperial Family. Unusually frank comments on the subject by Crown Prince Naruhito this year meant that the matter has received a rare public airing by the ultra-conservative standards of Japanese imperial tradition. The decision by the Empress to allude to the issues surrounding Masako is itself recognition by the palace that the problem has become too big to ignore.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,173-1321199,00.html

MAYBE she could just pull herself together and make those OVARIES WORK SO HARD they produce an egg capable of becoming a MALE HEIR!

The Japanese Chrysanthemum Throne is in denial of the fact that its crown prince seems incapable of producing any sperm that would result in a son.

[wabeewoman]

1. Not to mention the fact

that the princess is an intelligent woman who did have a career. Who wouldn't be depressed about now being the official sperm recepticle whose purpose is to produce a heir and not much else. They really need to move into the 21st century.

[WoodrowFan]

2. hell

moving into the 20th century would be an improvement!

[demnan]

3. Oh come on!

fertility drugs and antidepressants anyone?

[robcon]

4. Huh? Do you need any facts before making that statement?

You wrote "The Japanese Chrysanthemum Throne is in denial of the fact that its crown prince seems incapable of producing any sperm that would result in a son" What test results were you referencing?

I thought not.

[Heddi]

9. I think the OP meant

that scorn is being heaped upon the wife for not producing any sons when the biological fact of the matter is that it is the MALE chromosomes that determine the sex of the child.

A woman can only "offer" an X chromosome to the mix. Males have X and Y, so they are the deciding factor of the sex of the child.

[TahitiNut]

5. Who gives a shit? Would anyone read such an article if the people ...

... involved were homeless? Some other ("low-level") government employees?

If "royalty" were barren and impotent all over the world, I'd not shed any more tears than for but a single death on the killing fields of Iraq.

[Lisa]

6. Japan's had female rulers in the past ...

Personally, as a North American of Japanese ancestry, I would be thrilled if there were a Japanese empress. And the Imperial Household seems like it's a soul-stifling institution -- no wonder Masako's so stressed. I bet things will be a lot happier when she's the senior female.

[cmkramer]

7. Same here

I had a Japanese mother, and I'd be thrilled to see women be allowed to inherit the Throne. By the way, the last Japanese Prince born was Prince Akishino who is the Crown Prince's younger brother and he's about 40 years old. I know one of the Emperor's aunts has come out in favor of an Empress-Regnant.

You know, in the old days, royalty always married royalty. I wonder if the people back then knew something because you do hear a lot about how stressful it is for those who come from "normal" backgrounds and marry into ruling families.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

8. Her ovaries don't need to work hard

The sex of the baby is determined by the sperm.

On edit: saw the sentence below mine. Duh on me.