CROWN Prince Naruhito of Japan appealed to courtiers yesterday to relax the stifling protocol and isolation which have driven his wife, Princess Masako, into depression.

In a written statement broadcast on Japanese television, the Prince talked of the burdens that have transformed his wife from a confident diplomat to an unhappy woman who is a virtual prisoner in her own palace.

Last month Japanese were stunned when the habitually reticent Prince used a routine press conference to speak of “moves which nullified Masako’s career, and nullify her personality based on that career”. His words suggested something unthinkable in the closed, discreet world of Japanese royalty: an open split between the Crown Prince and his courtiers, particularly Toshio Yuasa, head of the Imperial Household Agency.

More remarkably, his comments seemed to hint at a falling-out with Emperor Akihito, who was said to be “surprised” by his son’s statement. Since his return from a ten-day visit to Europe the Crown Prince has been under pressure to clarify his words.

Yesterday, far from withdrawing complaints about the treatment of his wife, he added to them. “Problems such as the so-called heir to the imperial throne and the fact that we are not allowed to visit foreign countries are attracting excessive attention,” he said in the statement. “The Crown Princess has had to make tremendous efforts not only with those problems, but also with tradition and customs, dealing with the press, and adapting herself to the environment of the Imperial Family.”

He continued: “Henceforth, I want Masako to engage in activities which will reflect the modern era, fully drawing on her career and recovering the confidence she used to have.”

Last month, The Times reported what has been an open secret for months — that rather than suffering from stress and physical illness, as the official version has it, Princess Masako is being treated for depression. She has made no public appearances since last December when she was reported to be suffering from shingles. She has since been on a lengthy retreat to the mountain town of Karuizawa, with her mother and only child, two-year-old Princess Aiko, but without her husband.

Coverage of the Imperial Family is restricted to a small pool of reporters from the main Japanese newspapers and TV stations, which report only what is authorised by the household agency. Yesterday, despite a new policy of allowing registered foreign journalists into news conferences by government agencies, The Times was refused admission to the gathering where the Crown Prince’s statement was released.

In this information void, wild rumours flourish. They include talk of the Prince and the Princess being estranged and of Princess Aiko suffering from autism. But the Crown Prince’s remarks yesterday set out the most credible reasons for Masako’s distress: the extraordinary difficulties of imperial life for a highly educated, cosmopolitan woman.

“From the bottom of her heart, Masako wishes to return to her official duties after mentally and physically recovering her original good health,” he said. “Various measures and ideas are necessary. Henceforth, I want to talk to the Imperial Household Agency about this.”

Until her marriage in 1993, the Princess was a career diplomat in the Japanese Foreign Ministry, with an international upbringing and qualifications from Tokyo, Harvard and Oxford universities.

The household agency has other priorities, above all the propagation of the Imperial Family. After several years without a pregnancy and one miscarriage, Princess Aiko was born following fertility treatment in 2001. But the couple show no sign of producing a son, and only a male heir can succeed to the 2,000-year-old Chrysanthemum Throne.

The man many blame for the Crown Princess’s unhappiness is the agency’s Grand Steward, Mr Yuasa, who delivered the statement.

“I apologise for causing anxiety for the Emperor and Empress, other members of the Imperial Household and the public,” he said. But he conspicuously failed to make any promises about changes to the Princess’s regime.

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