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Time out for Japan's empress
06/03/2007 16:48 - (SA)
Tokyo - Japan's Empress Michiko will suspend official duties after falling ill with stress, news reports said on Tuesday.
The 72-year-old empress is "bleeding from an intestinal wall, which could have been caused by mental fatigue", Jiji Press said, citing the palace.
She will take a three-month rest from her official duties, it said.
Kyodo News also said she was showing "symptoms of bleeding in the intestines".
It said she caught a cold on February 19 that forced her to skip official duties, although she got better after a few days.
An imperial household agency spokesperson declined to comment.
Michiko is the second member of the imperial family to fall ill with stress. Crown Princess Masako, a former career woman who married Michiko's son Naruhito, has shunned most public appearances since 2003 as she struggles with depression.
The empress, the first commoner to marry into the world's oldest monarchy, was known to have suffered from stress when she was younger, once losing her voice for months.
In the 1960s, her stress was blamed on the intense media scrutiny given to her as a newcomer to the imperial family, which is widely revered in Japan.
- AFP
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