Japanese Emperor In Health Scare

[Mulboyne]

Telegraph: Japanese emperor suffering chest pains
Japanese Emperor Akihito has cleared his schedule after suffering chest pains, elevated blood pressure and an iregular pulse overnight. The emperor, who will turn 75 on December 23, initially complained of discomfort in his chest two weeks ago, according to a spokeswoman for the Imperial Household Agency in Tokyo. A scheduled luncheon on Wednesday with judicial officials was cancelled early in the morning, the official said, and an audience on Thursday with the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, has also been called off. The emperor is resting at his residence in Tokyo, according to palace officials...more...

[Mulboyne]

Telegraph: Japanese emperor falls ill due to row with son over heir

Emperor Akihito is being treated for an irregular pulse, high blood pressure and internal bleeding that are said to be linked to feuds with his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, over his failure to provide a male heir. The emperor complained of chest pains last week and cancelled a series of official engagements. The palace initially played down suggestions that the emperor, who will turn 75 this month, was seriously ill but more tests were carried out when he failed to respond to treatment. Doctors said they had discovered bleeding from the walls of his stomach and intestines, blaming the problem on the stress of his duties. But an apparently unguarded remark by his doctor has triggered speculation that a long-running row over the future of the monarchy is the cause of his illness. Ichiro Kanazawa, head of the Imperial Household Agency's medical division, told reporters in a news conference: "Please do not simply think that he feels distress because he is busy performing official duties or as his schedule is tight.

"His Majesty has felt distress over many matters and I believe he has been patiently holding himself back," he added. Toshiko Marks, a professor at Shumei University, said the official duties of the emperor and Empress Michiko were unlikely to be the cause as they were scaled back after he underwent surgery for prostate cancer in January 2003. He said: "It is hard to believe that he has that much stress from greeting official guests and the occasional banquet or opening ceremony. "We know there has been some sort of falling out between the emperor and his oldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, and it appears it is deeper than we thought." The feud between the emperor and his son relates to his decision to marry commoner Masako Owada in 1993.

She has not produced the male heir required to keep the dynasty alive and is now rarely seen in public due to the strain of the tensions it has caused within the family. She gave birth to Princess Aiko in December 2001 but three years later the pressure had reached a point that the crown princess suffered what the palace has termed an adjustment disorder. "He is from a different generation to his father," said Professor Marks. "The emperor is wholly committed to the imperial system and the nation. The prince was partly educated at Oxford and has grown up in a different world. As far as he is concerned, the most important thing is the wellbeing of his wife."

Despite the prince's brother having a son and heir, the row has become increasingly public. Professor Peter Mathais, the prince's research supervisor when he was at Oxford in the 1980s, said his former pupil remains "serious and responsible." "He struck me back in Oxford as being highly responsible and extremely serious in everything that he did," he said. "He was committed to his family and his role as a representative of Japan." The other concern of royal-watchers is that the emperor may be in a worse condition than the palace is admitting. "It is very possible that the illness is more worrying and that the agency is preparing us all for some more serious news," said Professor Marks.

[Dragonette]

Telegraph: Japanese emperor falls ill due to row with son over heir
The feud between the emperor and his son relates to his decision to marry commoner Masako Owada in 1993.

She has not produced the male heir required to keep the dynasty alive and is now rarely seen in public due to the strain of the tensions it has caused within the family.

Uh - way back in my high school biology class, we were taught that females contributed XX and males contributed XY chromosomes, so that a child's sex was always determined by the male partner; and unless there has been some major discovery that I missed, that still holds true. I could understand if some unschooled peasant were fretting about the princess not providing male heirs but J-Royalty are supposedly well-educated, are they not?

Or is it that she's supposed to "do the right thing" by secretly getting herself knocked up by some guy who has proved his worthiness by having a dozen or so sons? (there are rumors that it wouldn't be the first time an emporer had that kind of "help"...)

[Greji]

(there are rumors that it wouldn't be the first time an emporer had that kind of "help"...)

Count me in! Anything to help the Crown.....

[Dragonette]

Count me in! Anything to help the Crown.....

I somehow suspected that there would be FG volunteers on this board. Your loyalty and selflessness in this time of great crisis is truly inspiring, and I understand that you've already proven your worth by fathering multiple offspring for the glory of Yamato.

But, since Dai Nippon has decided in its infinite wisdom that it wants only a male as it's pet living logo, they will need a written guarantee, signed in blood (or possibly some other appropriate bodily fluid?). I'm sure though that you, along with other loyal board members, could rise to the occasion, ne?
:nihonjin::nihonjin::nihonjin:

[Greji]

A. signed in blood.
B. (or possibly some other appropriate bodily fluid?).

May I have door B please,

could rise to the occasion, ne?
:nihonjin::nihonjin::nihonjin:

As they say when you putt in golf, "Never up, Never in!"

[kusai Jijii]

Fuck the lot 'em. I mean, really, who cares?