[Japan] Emperor Akihito expresses hopes for united rebuilding effort in New Year's greetings

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Sunday received New Year's greetings at the start of 2012 from other imperial family members and foreign ambassadors, while expressing hope in his New Year's message for cooperative and patient efforts to rebuild society after the nation was devastated by a series of natural disasters last year.

Among the well-wishers who extended congratulations to the emperor and the empress at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo were Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and about 200 ambassadors and their spouses.

photos found on twitter

"It is certainly a pleasure to celebrate the New Year together," the emperor said at the ceremony. "At the beginning of the year, I wish for the prosperity of the nation and happiness of the people."

In his New Year message to the Japanese people released earlier in the day, the emperor expressed hope that everyone will cooperate and make patient efforts to rebuild Japanese society after the country was hard hit in 2011 by calamities, such as the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster as well as torrential rains which ravaged parts of western Japan in September.

to read more, click here

Divisions deepen in the Japanese Royal [Imperial] court

The divisions are so sharp that Crown Princess Masako, pleading a cold, did not once visit the ailing Emperor Akihito, who turns 78 this month, as he lay for 19 days in the University of Tokyo hospital with bronchitis.

The estrangement between the emperor and the couple comes in the twilight of Akihito's reign and foreshadows profound changes in the ancient dynasty.

Long rumoured, but seldom confirmed, the troubles of the monarchy last week moved from the gossip pages of weekly magazines into the staid columns of Japan's most respected newspapers.

Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko

Supporters of the crown prince and princess, who both studied at Oxford, had hopes they would refresh the court with a modern, cosmopolitan touch - hopes that foundered on stony traditions.

Instead, Japan has endured the private anguish of its crown princess, who has been receiving psychological care for eight years and seldom appears at royal engagements. Masako was ostracised by courtiers when she tried to break with protocol, failed to produce a male heir to the throne and then went into seclusion after a nervous collapse.

The royal couple have a daughter, Aiko, 10, who cannot accede to the chrysanthemum throne under a rule barring women. Crown Prince Naruhito has defended his wife against criticism and this has led to an erosion of his stature in the eyes of the emperor and the rest of the family.

Instead, Prince Akishino, his younger brother, has advanced in favour as the father of the male heir to the throne, Prince Hisahito, now aged five. Hisahito's birth 12 years after his parents' last child ended parliamentary discussion of reforms to allow Aiko to succeed.

Now taboos are crumbling after the younger prince spoke publicly about the distance between the brothers.

"Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to interact on many occasions with the crown prince and princess," Akishino told a press conference to mark his 46th birthday.

He remarked the imperial grandchildren rarely saw each other, even though they all lived on the leafy Akasaka estate in central Tokyo. "There have only been a limited number of opportunities for our children to be together," Akishino said.

According to the Asahi Shimbun, a leading daily paper, his comments "give the impression that the crown prince and his family have become isolated within the entire imperial family".

It said the elderly emperor saw far more of little Hisahito, who is a passionate collector of insects, and joined him on expeditions in the imperial palace gardens.

"That may reflect a special bond towards Hisahito, who is the first and only grandson," the paper commented, adding: "The emperor and empress ... want to pass on the future to (Akishino's) children ... that is because they feel they can no longer depend on Masako, who rarely makes public appearances due to an 'adjustment disorder'."

source

King Jigme of Bhutan and Queen Jetsun Pema's visit to Japan

Queen Jetsun of Bhutan and Princess Kiko

Her natural beauty and elegance and her colourful traditional outfits have helped Bhutan's Queen Jetsun Pema become the new fashion icon of the Orient.

And the 21-year-old royal, who has become an ambassador for the ethnic style of her tiny Himalayan state, did her people proud on an official visit to Japan.

Jesun and her husband King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck were welcomed to Toyko's Imperial Palace by Crown Prince Naruhito.

The prince was stepping in for his absent father, Emperor Akihito, who has been hospitalised with bronchitis symptoms.

Also at the welcome ceremony was Empress Michiko and her younger son Prince Akishimo and his wife Princess Kiko.

Naruhito's wife, Crown Princess Masako, who has been affected by a stress-induced illness, was absent.

At a banquet in the evening, Naruhito praised the couple's state, saying Japan could learn a lot from the way it was governed.

He was referring to Bhutan's gross national happiness index – which requires the government to measure citizens' contentment rather their material wealth.

King Jigme and his wife, who wed in an elaborate marriage ceremony last October, promised to spend their honeymoon working, and that's exactly what they've done.

Their Japan trip marks pilot's daughter Jetsun's second major trip overseas as queen after the couple visited India.

They are the first state visitors to be welcomed to Japan since the March earthquakes and tsunami.

source

Queen Jetsun with Empress Michiko and King Jigme

With Crown Prince Naruhito