<figure id="attachment_417588" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417588" style="width: 2062px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b7cfc6de"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/126a4f5051874416430f4172971a2baf.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417588" class="wp-caption-text">On February 27, 2005, the Crown Prince of Japan (at that time, from the March 18, 2005 issue) was watching the &#8220;Nagano Special Olympics&#8221; alone. (From the March 18, 2005 issue)</figcaption></figure>
<p> What did &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; report 10, 20, and 30 years ago? In &#8220;Playback Friday,&#8221; we take a look back at the topics that were hot at the time. In this issue, we introduce a report from 20 years ago, in the March 18, 2005 issue, titled <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;Deep Report on Princess Masako&#8217;s Cancellation of Nagano Official Duties: Crown Prince&#8217;s &#8220;Apology Press Conference&#8221; Enraged the &#8216;Owada Family.</span></p>
<p> On February 26, 2005, the Crown Prince and Princess (now Emperor and Empress) were scheduled to visit Nagano Prefecture to watch the Nagano Special Olympics games and interact with the athletes. However, one hour before their departure, Princess Masako&#8217;s visit and subsequent local official duties were canceled. The following is an article on the &#8220;ripples&#8221; that followed (the descriptions in parentheses are quoted from past articles. All ages and titles are current at the time).</p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> No One Trying to Protect Princess Masako Anymore</span></h3>
<p> As a preliminary step to this story, there was the previous year&#8217;s &#8220;disturbance over the Crown Prince&#8217;s negative comments about the character of the Crown Princess. At a press conference held on May 10, 2004, after complaining about Princess Masako&#8217;s poor health that prevented her from accompanying the Crown Prince on his visit to Europe for rest and relaxation,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He stated, &#8220;It is also true that there have been moves to deny Masako&#8217;s career and, based on that, Masako&#8217;s personality.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> He then stated, &#8220;It is also true that there have been moves to deny Masako&#8217;s career and her personality based on that. Later, in June 2004, Princess Masako was diagnosed by a doctor as suffering from an adjustment disorder and was placed under medical care.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> She said, &#8220;Now that Masako has become like that, I am so worried that I can&#8217;t sleep at night. Recently, I have more chances to see Masako&#8217;s face, but I still worry about her. I can&#8217;t believe this is happening. &#8230;&#8230;&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In these months when there is no prospect for Masako&#8217;s complete recovery, her mother, Yumiko Owada, has been expressing her concerns to those around her. She says that she is distressed that no one in the Imperial Household, including the Imperial Household Agency, is willing to protect Princess Masako.</span></p>
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<p> The Crown Prince and his family enjoyed skiing at Okushiga Highlands for about a week from February 14, 2005. This was followed by official business in Nagano, but when Princess Masako became ill from skiing, it was discovered that the Crown Prince&#8217;s office was unaware of her condition. The blame for this was placed on the doctors who had authorized the skiing.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The Riddle of the Retirement of the Key Figure in the Marriage"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">The Crown Prince&#8217;s &#8220;apology&#8221; further deepened his isolation.</span></h3>
<p> Furthermore, on February 28, 2005, Shoichi Fujimori, 78, a counselor of the Imperial Household Agency, resigned. He was the director of the Imperial Household Agency when the Crown Prince and Princess Masako were married, and was the person who persuaded Masako&#8217;s father at the time, and was said to have been a liaison between the Owada family and the Imperial Household Agency for many years. Speculation flew that his resignation may have been related to Princess Masako&#8217;s problems.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> On March 1, the day after Mr. Fujimori resigned as a counselor to the Imperial Household Agency, this magazine interviewed him directly in front of his home.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I have been in this position for nine years now, so I am old, and there is no end to it (if I do not decide to step down). &#8230;&#8230;</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Fujimori told this magazine, but his true intentions as to why he is stepping down now are unclear.</span></p>
<p> On February 25, the Crown Prince apologized to the Emperor, Empress, and people at his birthday press conference. The Owada family said that this was a compromise with the Imperial Household Agency and caused them to distrust the Imperial Family.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> 《&#8221;The Crown Prince emphasized his collaboration with the Imperial Household Agency, the very agency that had denied Masako&#8217;s career and personality. Furthermore, he apologized for the &#8216;character denial&#8217; remark, which was supposed to have been made to let people know about Masako&#8217;s situation. In such a situation, it could be taken as Masako&#8217;s fault alone.</span></p>
<p> Under such circumstances, it seemed that Princess Masako&#8217;s condition would remain unstable. The way out of the confusion was still far away.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Princess Masako, who had been complaining of physical problems since 2003"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">The unrelenting pressure of the &#8220;birth of a boy&#8221;&#8230;</span></h3>
<p> It was around the spring of 2003 that Princess Masako&#8217;s health began to visibly change. She began to suffer from fever and difficulty getting up in the morning. In December of the same year, she developed shingles, which was thought to be caused by stress, and was hospitalized. In March 2004, he entered a period of recuperation at the Owada family&#8217;s villa in Karuizawa.</p>
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<p> The cause was seen as being that he was exhausted from the efforts he had made to blend in with the imperial family since his marriage in June 1993. And the pressure of the &#8220;birth of a boy&#8221; after the birth of Princess Aiko in December &#8217;01 added further impetus. In June 2003, when Princess Masako&#8217;s physical condition began to show signs of abnormality, Toshio Yuasa, then Director General of the Imperial Household Agency, said, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;I still want another child,&#8221; and &#8220;I think many people are thinking so, too.</span> However, in December, when Princess Masako was hospitalized with shingles, he stated to the Akishino family that <span class="strongInContent">he strongly desired a third child</span>. Princess Masako was reportedly heartbroken. It was in this vein that she made her &#8220;character-denial remark&#8221; in May 2004.</p>
<p> As the article in this magazine states, the Crown Prince &#8220;apologized&#8221; for this &#8220;character-denigrating remark,&#8221; but he has continued to shield Princess Masako and watch over and support her and the rest of the family, including Princess Aiko. Many people may have gradually come to sympathize with the family&#8217;s friendly relationship, which has been shown to the public from time to time.</p>
<p> Even now that she is Empress, Masako is still undergoing medical treatment. Even she does not know until just before the day of the event whether she will be able to perform her official duties on the day of the event. Even so, she has been participating in official duties more and more. In 2011, for the first time in 21 years, he visited Indonesia on an international goodwill visit. His Majesty&#8217;s thoughts are slowly but steadily bearing fruit.</p>
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<figure id="attachment_417589" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417589" style="width: 2844px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5235595d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/d05de17b5d3a5bda3fa9955e99de48c4.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417589" class="wp-caption-text"> On February 28, 2005, Mr. Fujimori resigned as Counselor to the Imperial Household Agency. He said that he volunteered to step down (from the March 18, 2005 issue).</figcaption></figure>


 Toshiaki Ichihara (JMPA, 1st), Yasuko Funamoto (2nd)

 In this issue of Playback, we look back at what we were reporting 20 years ago. In this issue, we look back at the uproar over Princess Masako's cancellation of her official duties in Nagano on February 27, 2005, and the ripples caused by the Crown Prince's "character-negating" apology press conference.

Playback &#8217;05] The Owada Family&#8217;s &#8220;Disbelief&#8221; in the Crown Prince&#8217;s &#8220;Apology Conference&#8221;: &#8220;Masako is the only one who has been wronged&#8230;&#8221; [Playback &#8217;05

Playback ’05] The Owada Family’s “Disbelief” in the Crown Prince’s “Apology Conference”: “Masako is the only one who has been wronged…” [Playback ’05

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