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Japanese publisher pulls royal book

19.02.07

A Japanese edition of a controversial biography of Japan's Crown Princess Masako has been scrapped after formal complaints from the Japanese government to the publisher and its Australian author Ben Hill.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the book, Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne, which has been released in Australia and the US, but not yet in Britain, argues that the former career diplomat has been suffering from depression as a result of being bullied by courtiers and denied a role since marrying Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito in 1993.

"Japan's foreign ministry this week called for corrections to the book and demanded an apology. The imperial household agency, the Japanese equivalent of Buckingham Palace, called it "inaccurate and distorted".

Kodansha, one of Japan's largest publishing firms, said it was pulling out of a Japanese edition because of a loss of trust in the author after he refused to acknowledge alleged errors in the book. The company also pointed to cultural differences that made the book problematic in Japan.

Ben Hills called the Japanese government's complaints "a blatant attempt at censorship". He has refused to apologise, insisting it is the Japanese courtiers who should apologise to Princess Masako."

Daily Telegraph

biography Japan

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