Empress Masako
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Masako (jp: 雅子皇太子妃殿下 masako kōtaishihi denka) (born December 9 1963, Tokyo, Japan) is Her Imperial Highness The Crown Princess of Japan and as the wife of the heir apparent to the throne, she will one day be Her Imperial Majesty The Empress of Japan. She was born Masako Owada (小和田 雅子 owada masako), the eldest daughter of Hisashi Owada, a senior diplomat. She is most famous for giving up her professional career to become a princess, and for struggling to adapt to the sacrifices of marrying into the Imperial Household and the pressures to produce a male heir.
Early life
She traveled the world with her parents from childhood. She went to kindergarten in Moscow, and attended Belmont High School in Belmont, Massachusetts, near Boston, where she was President of the National Honor Society and graduated as class valedictorian with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude in 1985 with a degree in economics. Afterwards she went to study at Oxford University from 1988 to 1990, to work on a postgraduate degree in International Relations. Masako became fluent in 4 languages - Russian, English, French and German - and joined the Japanese foreign ministry, where she met many world leaders such as U.S. president Bill Clinton and Russian president Boris Yeltsin. Masako was noted to have taken part in trade negotiations with the United States over superconductors, as a translator.
Masako is an extremely accomplished woman and by marrying into the Imperial family, she gave up a promising career. Although she accepted the Prince's proposal she could forsee some of the issues she would face by marrying him. However, the Prince reassured her "You might have fears and worries about joining the Imperial Household. But I will protect you my entire life."
Marriage
Though she initially refused the marriage proposal of His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito, the Heir Apparent to the throne of Japan, Masako was eventually convinced into marriage - after he proposed marriage three times. Prior to the wedding, however, she was forced to undergo an intense fertility exam as well as other medical examinations to ensure that she can safely deliver a healthy heir to the throne. She was also forced to sign a prenuptial agreement against her wishes, one that would ensure that if the marriage failed, Masako would receive nothing from the royal fortune and would be forced to leave Japan. More importantly, the contract clearly outlined that she would have no rights whatsoever to any children that she bore to the Prince.
She married the Crown Prince on June 9 1993, much to the international public's delight and became Her Imperial Highness The Crown Princess of Japan. However, many younger Japanese women felt conflicted when Masako was ordered to give up her career prior to marrying the Crown Prince, thereby accepting the many restrictions imposed by life in the Imperial Court, thanks in large part to the powerful and highly conservative Imperial Household Agency. Elder Japanese citizens, however, saw it as the highest diplomatic post available in Japan, and the best possible lifelong promotion for the future Empress.
After a highly publicized miscarriage (which was blamed on intense media pressure and the neglect and mistreatment she received from members of the Imperial Household Agency), she gave birth to a girl, Her Imperial Highness Aiko, on December 1 2001. Princess Aiko's birth stimulated public debate on changing Japan's Imperial Household Law to add royal daughters, a commentary that has not ceased. The lack of a male heir has created a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty in Japan.
Controversy
On December 9, 2004, the Crown Princess announced that she hoped to return to her official duties, for she had been absent from all of these duties for more than 2 years, due to what the imperial doctors have called "stress-induced illness." Her husband has made pointed and controversial comments about incourtesies addressed to and other pressures placed on his wife since their marriage by the Imperial Household Agency; observers have indicated that the Crown Princess suffered a nervous breakdown. It was announced that the Crown Princess experienced a bout of shingles. She herself released a rare statement that she was suffering from 'fatigue.'
It has been widely speculated that the immense pressure to produce a male heir has put heavy stress on the Crown Princess. In January, 2005, the Japanese government announced that they would consider allowing the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to adopt a male child, in order to avoid the possible heir crisis. The child would be adopted from former royal members who lost their imperial titles after World War II. A government-appointed panel of experts is expected to submit a report later in 2005 regarding the feasibility of this plan. Many members of the Japanese public, however, have indicated that they would happily accept the possibility of Princess Aiko ascending the throne as Empress and view allowing the continuance of male primogeniture as a retrograde step.