Frustrated public wants princess to get on with her duties

The love of the Japanese public for the commoner who married into the imperial family is waning after Japan's tabloid media revealed that she had been passing up official engagements. On top of that, she was seen going out on the town with friends and family.

Crown Princess Masako, 44, has rarely been seen in public since early in 2004, with the Imperial Household Agency conceding only two years later that she had suffered some sort of mental disorder brought on by stress.

Under pressure since her 1993 wedding to Crown Prince Naruhito to give birth to a son to continue the world's longest hereditary royal dynasty, Masako gave birth to a girl, Princess Aiko, in December 2001. And while life at court is undoubtedly stressful, she is feeling the pressure of recent headlines for her recent unofficial outings.

'They are calling it the 'New Year Incident' and it's causing quite a stir, both inside the palace and among the public,' said Toshiko Marks, a professor of multicultural understanding at Shumei University. 'It seems the media found out that she went to lunch with her parents instead of staying with the rest of the imperial family for the whole day for the traditional greeting of the public at the palace.'

Appearing on the balcony to wave only three times to mark the New Year might seem a minor transgression, but in the stiffly formal world of Japan's royals, it's a major faux pas. Other reports have stated that the prince and princess dined with friends at an upmarket French restaurant in Tokyo in December.

'People are beginning to say that she should accept that her job now is to be a member of the imperial family and to do all that entails,' Professor Marks said.

'It has been four years since she played a real role and patience is wearing thin.'