[/floatl]Japan's empress turns to prayer to cope
AFP, May 15, 2007, TOKYO --Japan's Empress Michiko, the first commoner to marry into the world's oldest monarchy, says she has turned to prayer to cope with stress and at times wished she could be invisible to enjoy life more.....
..."It was quite a great challenge for me to get by each and every day with sorrow and anxiety," she said, adding there were times when she "prayed and muttered some childish magic words" when she found it hard to cope.
Michiko, who was raised a Christian, said she had come to consider such emotions to be a "reward, solace and encouragement."
The empress is known to have suffered from stress when she was younger, once losing her voice for months....more...
