Japan’s Princess Diana?
The top news in Japan this week is sure to be the flap over a new book about Crown Princess Masako. Australian journalist Ben Hills has written a not-so-flattering tell-all about the princess, who for years has allegedly suffered from severe depression for failing to produce a male heir for the throne, a feat her ...
The top news in Japan this week is sure to be the flap over a new book about Crown Princess Masako. Australian journalist Ben Hills has written a not-so-flattering tell-all about the princess, who for years has allegedly suffered from severe depression for failing to produce a male heir for the throne, a feat her younger sister-in-law achieved last September.
In his new book, Hills portrays the princess as a prisoner of her royal duties, casting her as Japan’s Princess Diana. The imperial household and foreign ministry responded by slamming Hills and his work. Shortly thereafter, Hills’s Japanese publisher canceled plans to sell the book in the country. Some are alleging official meddling, but if the royal family hoped to hush rumors, they’ve only succeeded in creating a bestseller. The English version of Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne is now the best-selling foreign-language book on Amazon Japan. It seems the imperial family forgot that any publicity is good publicity … for the author.
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