British documents reignite rumours of rift between Japan's new emperor and his brother

As his older brother accepted the Imperial Regalia of sword and sacred jewel in the solemn investiture ceremony for Japan’s new emperor on Wednesday, Crown Prince Akishino looked on impassively.

But there are suggestions, backed up by hints in British diplomatic correspondence dating from the 1980s, that all might not be well between the two most senior members of the Yamato Dynasty.

British government documents released by the National Archives in September are full of praise for Crown Prince Naruhito, who studied at the University of Oxford’s Merton College between 1983 and 1985, saying the future emperor was “taken with the British way of life”, Kyodo News reported, and that his stay in Britain had “helped to widen his horizons”.

The documents include a letter from Sydney Gifford, the British ambassador to Tokyo at the time, suggesting that “battles” were going on within the Imperial Household Agency over the crown princes’ futures.

And while Prince Naruhito was permitted to study at Oxford, there were behind-the-scenes clashes when Prince Akishino expressed a desire to similarly study in Britain and saw his request turned down.

The Imperial Household Agency - the power behind Japan’s Chrysanthemum Throne - eventually relented and Prince Akishino studied the taxonomy of fish at Oxford between 1988 and 1990.

Three decades later, after Emperor Akihito had announced that he would abdicate at the end of May 2019 in favour of his eldest son, Prince Akishino triggered a debate by claiming that the imperial family should cover the costs associated with his brother’s enthronement ceremonies.

Speaking after the government had announced that it would pay for the events, the prince said that as the constitution separates religion and state, it would be wrong to use public money to pay for the religious rituals in the enthronement. Some estimates have put the cost of the ceremonies, banquets and other events throughout the year at around £15 million.

The issue may appear to be minor and the prince’s comments unimportant, but they signified a remarkable deviation from protocol in the rarefied air of the imperial family.

“Prince Akishino is not cooperating with his brother and is shunning the enthronement process”, said Noriko Hama, a professor at Doshisha University, which abuts the Imperial Palace in the ancient capital of Kyoto.

“Prince Akishino seems to be a destabilising force and appears to have an axe to grind with his brother”, she told The Telegraph. “He also seems to want to make himself conspicuous and it would appear to be a classic case of a family feud within the imperial household that is almost Shakespearian”.

As well as not being in the spotlight, Prince Akishino may have grown resentful at the additional responsibilities that have fallen on his shoulders, and that of his wife, Princess Kiko, as a result of the incapacitation of his brother’s wife, who is now Empress Masako.

As crown princess, she suffered a mental disorder brought on by the stresses of life at court that left her unable to attend numerous official functions. Consequently, Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko were called upon to step into the breach.

Professor Hama also believes that Prince Akishino feels he should have more say in the future direction of the imperial family as it will be his son, Prince Hisahito, who is likely to inherit the throne in the future. The emperor and empress have been unable to produce a son and heir to a throne that law dictates can only go to a male member of the imperial family.

Mieko Nakabayashi, a former politician with the Democratic Party of Japan and now a professor at the school of social sciences at Waseda University, said historians and experts on Japanese history that she has spoken with have similarly expressed concern about the prince’s approach to his duties and, potentially, his brother..

“Prince Akishino is cause for worry”, she said. “He is not as well educated as his brother and not as cautious” - an allusion to his public comments on the cost of his brother’s enthronement rites.

“There are suggestions that while he is nice, he is also weak and his wife usually takes the initiative”, she added. “That must be worrisome for the former emperor and empress”.