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Japan's imperial palace said Friday a grandchild of the emperor had skipped
school after suffering from anxiety over "the wild behaviour of a few boys," but
denied she had been bullied.
A palace official said Princess Aiko, granddaughter of Emperor Akihito and
Empress Michiko and daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako, did
not attend school this week because of "a strong stomach-ache and anxiety."
She developed the symptoms "after confronting the wild behaviour of a few
boys," said Imperial Household Agency official Issei Nomura.
However, he denied that the boys had bullied her.
"The school is taking countermeasures. No particular child has been
bullied. And so it is not a case of bullying," he said.
The princess had not attended classes since Tuesday, according to an
official at the Gakushuin primary school, the alma mater for most Japanese
royals.
"Presumably, Her Highness Princess Aiko was reminded of a past event in
which she was frightened by two boys running toward her highness," said Motomasa
Higashisono, the school's executive director.
"The boys did not directly collide with Her Highness Aiko," he said.
Aiko's birth in December 2001 after seven years of marriage between
Naruhito and US-educated former diplomat Masako sparked heated debate on a
possible change to the modern imperial family's code, which allows male-only
succession.
The crisis was resolved in September 2006 when Princess Kiko, the wife of
Naruhito's younger brother, Akishino, gave birth to the imperial family's first
male heir in four decades.
Crown Princess Masako has struggled to adjust to royal life, having skipped
most public duties over the past five years with the exception of appearing at
few public functions in Japan with her husband.
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