TOKYO, June 8 (UPI) -- Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito said Tuesday his wife, Crown Princess Masako, has regained her health and wants a more active role.
"Masako earnestly wishes to resume official duties after regaining her vigor and physical energy and becoming her normal healthy self," the prince told reporters, the Kyodo news agency reported. "I intend to fully support Masako so that she will quickly regain her health and be able to resume" her duties.
There was a swirl of rumors in Japan after May 10 when departing on a European tour without his wife, Naruhito cryptically said, "It is true that there were developments that denied Masako's career as a diplomat as well as her personality."
Before her marriage to the crown prince in 1993, Masako was a career diplomat and reportedly has had difficulty adapting to the rigors of imperial life and pressure to produce a male heir. The couple has one daughter, age 2 1/2.
