Succession concerns plague emperor

Source: Agencies  |   2008-12-23  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

STRESS has forced Japan's emperor to step back from the public eye ahead of his 75th birthday today, with a palace official hinting that one of the causes may be concerns about who will succeed him.

Emperor Akihito was to appear before well-wishers to mark his birthday, but will take the advice of doctors and lighten his official duties as he tries to recover from an irregular pulse and bleeding from his stomach - symptoms imperial doctors have attributed to "mental stress."

Akihito chose to sit out a news conference he normally holds about a week before his December 23 birthday, but a palace official said yesterday he will still appear before well-wishers for his annual birthday greetings to wave to them three times from a palace veranda.

He is also scheduled to wish visitors a happy new year on January 1, but may appear at the window fewer times than usual, the palace official said, on condition of anonymity in keeping with imperial protocol.

Akihito's court physician issued an unusually candid statement earlier this month about the monarch's symptoms. Akihito underwent an operation for prostate cancer in 2003, but the palace statement suggested his latest ailments were brought about by worry.

"His majesty has felt mental stress over many matters," Shingo Haketa, the head of the Imperial Household Agency, said in explaining the statement.

He did not specify what matters were bothering Akihito, but according to several Japanese media reports, including one in The Asahi, a major newspaper, Haketa suggested that uncertainties over who his successor will be were among them.

Succession has for years been a source of concern for Japan's royalty, which is the world's oldest hereditary monarchy.