Stress has taken toll on princess

JAPAN’S Crown Princess Masako, under intense pressure to produce a male heir, has been diagnosed by doctors as having an adjustment disorder, a psychological condition caused by stress.

Masako, 40, who has not been seen in public or performed official duties since December, is recovering but probably will need more time to rest, the Imperial Household Agency said in a statement.

Palace doctors have found that Masako has an adjustment disorder, which is usually compounded by depression or anxiety, the agency said. She has been undergoing counselling and has been given medication.

“We will consider revamping her official duties,” the agency said.

Masako told palace officials she wanted her condition to be disclosed to the public, Kyodo News agency reported.

Crown Prince Naruhito has said Masako was exhausted from trying to adjust to imperial life and the pressures of producing a male heir to the throne. The couple has a two-year-old daughter.

Before his European trip in May, Naruhito lashed out at palace officials for trying to “deny her character” by restricting his wife’s activities, and blamed them for her ill health. The high-profile palace row has stirred calls for reform of the Imperial Household Agency, the conservative government bureaucracy that oversees palace affairs.

The popular princess has occasionally alluded to the pressures of royal life since her marriage in 1993. Amid intense public pressure to produce an heir, she had one miscarriage before giving birth to Princess Aiko in December 2001.