Tokyo DispatchJapan, in EnglishA Mainichi Shimbun essay argues the wartime Meiji Constitution turned the emperor into a quasi-religion to bind a new nation — a use of the throne its author says is being revived in today's succession debate.
The emperor's daughter travels alone to Singapore from Nov. 17 to 21 for the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties, while the succession debate that would decide her place stays parked.
A professor of Japanese dress says there is no age rule for the long-sleeved kimono, and that Princess Kako, 31, carried the formal look off.
Kuni Kuniaki, a member of one of the collateral houses stripped of imperial status after the war, died of pneumonia in Tokyo.
