Aiko, Princess Toshi's school refusal

On March 5, 2010, it was announced by Prince Tokujin of the Imperial Household Agency that Princess Aiko of the Imperial Household, the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako of the Imperial Household Agency, had been absent from school every day while enrolled in the second grade of Gakushuin Elementary School. This is a series of disturbances that occurred since then.

Background

Circumstances immediately prior to the uproar

Princess Aiko Keimiya, the first daughter of His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Tokujin, was in the second year of Gakushuin Elementary School at the time, but had been "commuting irregularly" to school since late February 2010 due to poor health caused by a cold. The Tokyo Shimbun reported that he was "absent from school from February 22 to 26, except on the 25th. February 27-28 was a Saturday and Sunday.

In the same year, on March 1,, Princess Aiko was absent because she complained of abdominal pain and strong anxiety, although her fever had gone down. She attended only the fourth period class on March 2 as scheduled, and left early without eating school lunch. He was then absent for three consecutive days until March 5.

On March 4, the Imperial Household Agency's staff at the Crown Prince's Office contacted the Gakushuin by fax and asked for approval for the content of the press conference the following day, and the Gakushuin responded by launching an investigation into the cause of his absence.。However, in this discussion, both sides' arguments and views on the cause of the absence were said to be parallel.。

The editorial department of AERA, which had been covering this situation, began preparing to publish "The truth about Aiko's 'truancy'" in the March 15, 2010 issue, which was to be released on March 8 and whose headline would be advertised before that date. They considered her absence for a few days as truancy.。Therefore, at this stage, the chance to explore an amicable solution between the Gakushuin and the Togu office was lost.

Announcement by the Crown Prince, press conference by the Gakushuin

On March 5, at a regular press conference, Prince Tomohito's grandfather, Kazunari Nomura, announced that "Princess Aiko's continued absence from the Gakushuin Primary School" and that the investigation into the cause of this was "due to the fact that male students of the Gakushuin Primary School (including Princess Aiko) have been abusive to other students. In addition, Nomura said, "I think that (Princess Aiko) herself is also the target of violent behavior," although he did not give specifics of the violent behavior.。

The impact of Nomura's use of the word "violent" was so great that the Gakushuin held a press conference on the same night, as it became a major topic of conversation in Japan. Motomasa Azumazono, Executive Director, and Yoshiki Takeshima, Director of the Planning Department, were in charge of the press conference.

The school apologized for the uproar and admitted that there had been "violent boys" in the past (around November 2009), such as throwing things at Princess Aiko and another class, running vigorously in the corridor, and shouting, but denied the existence of "direct acts of violence" and "bullying" against the Princess.。Also, on March 2, Princess Aiko tried to leave school early, but after changing into her outdoor shoes, she returned to the corridor where her classmates were, where she passed two boys from the next group who ran out. At that time, she recalled the aforementioned "rowdy boys" and "felt uneasy," according to the report.。

As you can see, the Togu and Gakushuin sides have

• Whether or not direct violence was committed against Princess Aiko of the Imperial Household.
• Whether or not other students were also harmed.
• What does "violent" mean?

There was a discrepancy between the two points.

Spread of repercussions

On March 8, Princess Aiko accompanied her mother, then Crown Princess Masako, to school for the first time in six days. However, as on March 2, she attended only fourth period and did not eat school lunch.。Same for the next 9 days.、The 10th is 5th period only.、On the 11th, he attended school only in the middle of the fourth period, and continued to go to school, albeit irregularly, until the last day of classes on the 11th, accompanied by his mother, the then Crown Princess Masako.。On March 16, he also missed the end-of-school ceremony, but attended homeroom.。

During this time, Crown Prince Tokujin Emperor of Japan, father of Princess Aiko, left for Ghana on March 6, the day after the press conference, and returned on March 15.

Regarding this series of disturbances, the then Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Tatsuo Kawabata (Hatoyama Cabinet) stated on March 9 that "how to deal with and improve the problem is basically up to the Gakushuin Elementary School" and that he would not intervene in the problem.。

Also on March 9, Prince Tomohito Nomura explained to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, then grandparents of Princess Aiko, the background and circumstances of Princess Aiko's absence, and the future course of action. The Emperor and Empress are said to have said, "I think it is necessary to pay sufficient attention so that a solution is not reached in a way that one of us is sacrificed. When the Emperor and Empress expressed their intentions, the Gakushuin received many phone calls of encouragement.。

March 12, at a regular press conference, Nomura said, "We did not fully share our understanding with Gakushuin," regarding the discrepancy with the Gakushuin's announcement. I'm very sorry about this," he said, admitting that he had made the announcement without sharing the same understanding with the Gakushuin.。

Also, at a regular press conference on 19 March, Nomura announced that the Crown Prince and Princess。In his comment, he said that he was "heartbroken" that the public was concerned. In response to this comment, Shukan Asahi said, "There were no direct words of consideration for the children.。

Post-fiasco coverage

On June 4, Nomura announced at a regular press conference that he had requested a correction and apology from the editor-in-chief of Shukan Shincho, saying that the article titled "'Tougu' suggested 'mixing psychotropic drug in school lunches as a measure against bullies" in the June 10 issue was "groundless".

The article stated that "the Togu side proposed to use attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a psychotropic drug with similar effects to stimulants, as a "countermeasure against bullies. ADHD), a psychotropic drug, mixed with school lunch and given to Gakushuin Elementary School students," the report said. Nomura said, "It's impossible to propose an act that would violate the Medical Practitioners Act. It is a very malicious article that will seriously damage the honor of the Crown Prince and his family, not to mention the position of the Crown Prince," he criticized. It is extremely unusual for the Crown Prince to demand an apology for an article in a weekly magazine, and it was reported simultaneously by various news organizations.。

On the other hand, the editorial department of Shukan Shincho stated that they were confident that the article was written based on solid evidence.

As for reports on the state of the school, there were articles supporting the fact of bullying, such as the fact that there was a "watch" by a study hall teacher as of the winter of 2009 for a rowdy boy, and that this was reinstated in the early summer of 2010.。

According to journalist Naoko Tomonao, "Specific actions by the boys included swinging jump rope during class, carrying up chairs to play mikoshi, and direct violence against Princess Aiko, who tried to stick her head into a shoe box.。

It was also reported that there was a violent boy A and a verbal bully boy B who were presumed to be the center of the bullying. Since the B boy was the grandson of a former teacher at Gakushuin University, it was said that the school had imposed a gag order on him, and the Gakushuin side was also pointed out to be inadequate.。

Criticism of the press

Questions were also raised about the attitude of the media in covering the Imperial Family.

After the uproar, the magazine described Aiko as if she was still not attending school in the third semester of 2012, but Yasushi Kunoh strongly denied this, saying that she was attending school completely by herself.

In their discussion, Kuno, Yoshinori Kobayashi, and others pointed out that "the Imperial Family is in a position where it cannot refute one-sided news reports, and since articles bashing the Imperial Family are particularly 'sellable,' reports lacking respect, such as questioning Crown Princess Masako's Adjustment disorder In addition, since articles bashing the Imperial Family are 'sold', especially those bashing the Imperial Family, it has become a form of reverse discrimination against the Imperial Family.

In the background to this, he cited the deliberate dissemination of biased information (especially regarding the Crown Prince's family) by those involved, including executives within the Imperial Household Agency, and those involved in the Gakushuin, as well as the fact that the Imperial Household Agency executives are seconded from other government agencies, and that they are self-protective because they do not want to cause trouble during their term of office. And in the present turmoil, he defends the attitude of the mother, Princess Masako, who attends classes to protect her own child, saying, "It is an abnormal situation that requires the elementary school child, Princess Aiko, to endure insidious Spartan education-style bullying, even though the media should pursue the school if a similar situation were to occur with an ordinary child. Naoko Tomonao defended the attitude of Princess Masako, who attended the class to protect her child. Naoko Tomono also said, "The coverage of Princess Aiko has been excessive compared to that of her father, the Crown Prince, who received media attention from the time of her birth. The situation is such that the minimum rules, such as not writing bad things about children, are not being followed," he pointed out.

Then

It was later reported that "Princess Aiko overcame her truancy from school, and by the time she was in the sixth grade, she had many friends and took good care of the younger students, and her academic performance was almost all in the top five, and she received home education in English and Japanese history, making her an excellent student.。

See Also

• Truancy
• School refusal

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