Empress Masako pledges to help emperor more and bring happiness to the people in birthday message

Empress Masako said Monday she is happy to have completed her duties as part of Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement rituals, and pledged to continue such work and help her husband more for the happiness of the people.

In a palace statement marking her 56th birthday, the empress thanked people who have warmly welcomed the couple after Emperor Naruhito succeeded to the throne on May 1, following the abdication of his father, now Emperor Emeritus Akihito. “The many smiling faces I’ve seen in many places are precious memories for me, and they will be a big moral support to me as I move forward,” the statement said.

A Harvard-educated former diplomat, Empress Masako had been largely absent from public appearances for years and is understood to be recovering from stress-induced mental health issues. She developed adjustment disorder, a condition marked by depression and other symptoms caused by stress, after giving birth to the couple’s only child, Princess Aiko, in 2001, while facing pressure to produce a son in order to continue Japan’s male-only imperial succession.

Emperor Naruhito’s succession rituals spanned from late April until early December, and the empress was seen smiling and apparently healthy at her public appearances. Her doctors welcomed her accomplishment as a positive sign, but cautioned the people against raising their expectations too high, saying that could interfere with her recovery.

Empress Masako’s long absence from imperial events and trips had raised concern that she could do even part of the work done by hugely popular former empress, now Empress Emerita Michiko.

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But Masako accompanied Naruhito at all events, including his first public greeting as emperor which some 140,000 people gathered to witness. She sat next to him in an open car during a royal parade in November, enthusiastically waving to 119,000 well-wishers on the roadside, and was seen overwhelmed with emotion and wiping away tears with a handkerchief.

The empress thanked the emperor for his consideration and support for her, and said that she hopes to further improve her health so she can give him more support.

“I hope to fulfill my duty as Empress, while trying to further improve my health so that I can help His Majesty and work for the people’s happiness, together with him,” the statement released by the Imperial Household Agency said.

Empress Masako’s doctors have said she has been able to expand her activities and has regained confidence little by little while constantly seeking ways to maintain her health as well as taking care of her daughter. The warm welcome from the people also gave her encouragement.

But the doctors say she has managed to complete her duties related to the enthronement ceremonies because of her strong sense of responsibility, not because she had fully recovered.

“We believe it’s desirable” that the empress was able to expand her activity, the doctors said in a statement that was also released by the palace.

“But she has not fully recovered, and her conditions have ups and downs. She gets tired after a major event or after a series of events,” the doctors said. “Having over-expectations could go counter to her recovery.”

The doctors said it is important for the empress to continue her treatment while obtaining understanding and support from those around her. “We hope you will continue to warmly watch over her recovery,” they said.

There are expectations that the emperor — who is Japan’s first to hold a college degree and who studied at Oxford — will internationalize the imperial household together with the empress.

Many in Japan were particularly impressed when the pair casually chatted with U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania without interpreters during their visit in late May as the first state guests of the new emperor. The imperial couple also freely conversed with many foreign dignitaries who attended state banquets and tea parties to celebrate the emperor’s enthronement in October.

As a former diplomat, Empress Masako has expressed concerns about global issues, including marine plastic pollution, poverty, child abuse and people in the conflict-torn areas. She is said to have mourned the death of Tetsu Nakamura, a Japanese doctor and aid worker who was gunned down in Afghanistan last week.

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