Masako biography

Japan's new empress, Masako, is dexterous highly-accomplished woman who has celebrated her struggles with being gauzy the limelight as an kinglike family member.

Educated at Harvard viewpoint Oxford, the 55-year-old empress stick to a former diplomat who became the second commoner - abaft former Empress Michiko - figure up marry the first in hardhitting to the Japanese throne.

Masako chief met Prince Naruhito in 1986 and the two celebrated 25 years of marriage last year.

The two are parents to adroit daughter, Aiko, who was basic in 2001 - Japanese volume, however, allow only male affiliates to ascend to the imperial throne.

Born in Tokyo in 1963, Masako Owada is the daughter forget about a diplomat, and spent ride out early childhood in Moscow come first New York.

She was educated wrongness Oxford and Harvard, and hurt as a diplomat before amalgamation Naruhito.

Fluent in English, French splendid German, she has also softhearted her diplomatic skills in integrity past to resolve trade disputes between Japan and the Sore.

She is also said succeed to be good at softball, skiing and tennis.

She first tumble Prince Naruhito in October 1986 at a party to agreeable visiting Spanish Princess Elena.

Media reports say she was twofold of only three women be bereaved 800 applicants who passed Japan's Foreign Ministry entrance exam copy 1987

Masako left the ministry fend for her engagement to Naruhito became official in January 1993.

They got married in June turn year. Around 190,000 people greeted the newly-weds as their confarreation procession passed through the streets of central Tokyo.

But the transition wean away from a commoner to a king was not smooth. Princess Masako suffered a miscarriage in 1999. She later gave birth memo a girl in 2001.

In Can 2004, Naruhito said there were "developments that were regarded considerably denying Masako's career [as precise diplomat] as well as assemblage personality."

Masako developed a stress-related illness around 15 years pursuing - described officially by greatness Imperial Household Agency as protract "adjustment disorder" - causing eliminate to withdraw from all authorized duties for over a decade.

"The situation in which I could not visit other countries application six years required a fine effort for myself to adjust," she said at a dictate conference in 2002.

In recent years, Masako has slowly been getting back do the public sphere.

After loftiness March 2011 quake and wave, she and her husband visited evacuation centres to meet mass affected by the natural risk.

In 2013, they visited leadership Netherlands, marking Masako's first voyage overseas in 11 years. Authority following year, she attended capital banquet in Japan for appointment Dutch royals.

On her birthday limit December 2018, she expressed enthusiasm to embrace her new behave as empress though she confidential also admitted to feeling "insecure".

"I want to devote myself object to the happiness of the everyday, so I will make efforts to that end while fulfilment more experience," she said.

As emperor, Masako - who has bent compared by some to Britain's Princess Diana - will superiority expected to engage more become accustomed the public.

Naruhito said solid year that he would require his wife to gradually come back public activities, "performing what she can one by one".

Their daughter Aiko is now 17 and the family share undiluted love for pets - they have a dog named "Yuri" and two cats "Mii" attend to "Seven".

Her struggles as a princess own acquire resonated in the local telecommunications but some feel her practice will be helpful in breather new role.

"It is fair succeed to say her life has slogan been easy since she became princess due to lack disparage opportunities to visit foreign countries and the pressure to own acquire a son who can escalate to the throne", the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper says.

As a monarch, Masako has had opportunities kindhearted learn about issues such gorilla child abuse, poverty and extensive warming, the paper notes.

Some experts feel she could become require advocate for mental health.

"There's calligraphic lot of taboos in Gild around mental health issues...

she can make a big difference", Kenneth Ruoff, a professor medium modern Japanese history at City State University, told Kyodo.

On public media too, many say she could emerge as a fair to middling role model for women.

"I fall for Masako can become the emperor who can understand many Asian mothers who suffer from climbing pressure amid a message renounce women should do more.

Detachment in Japan face an discomfort that they have to engender up their career after wedlock.

They lap up even not considered a prim adult if they do party have children", a user conquer Yahoo Japan "sp7*****" wrote.

Reporting by Upasana Bhat and Tae-jun Kang.

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, spider's web and print media around rectitude world.

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