Japan's Crown Prince celebrates his 49th birthday on Monday.
Prior
to his birthday, the Crown Prince spoke to reporters about the
Emperor's recent illness brought on by mental and physical stress.
The
Crown Prince said he is wishing from the bottom of his heart that the
source of the Emperor's stress will be reduced, and that he will do all
he can to that end.
The Agency's Grand Steward, Shingo Haketa,
had revealed his private view that uncertainty over future imperial
succession is a source of stress for the Emperor.
The Crown
Prince said although imperial succession is an important issue, he
thinks it's a matter on which he should refrain from commenting.
He
also referred to his earlier suggestions on new ways of looking at
Imperial duties. He said he was not denying current official duties at
all, but was simply suggesting that needs for official duties and
people's views of them would naturally change as time passes. He gave
an example of attempts to address issues related to water.
He also commented on his wife, Crown Princess Masako, who is making efforts to recover from health problems.
He
said he and his wife are happy she has resumed performing some duties
that she could not do before. He said his wife tends to take on too
many tasks when she is in good condition, and that her doctors have
warned her to take a cautious approach, so that her health will not
decline again. He said he and his wife will not rush for a full
resumption of her official duties. He said they will continue to make
decisions on each case based on her health condition, in consultation
with her doctors.
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