Opinion

Masako Baby Madness

By JULIET HINDELL

Princess Masako must have had the most miserable millennium eve of anyone in Japan. She had just found out that she had had a miscarriage. The rest of the world too knew of her sorrow but perhaps she would have preferred that they did not.

Many women last year tried to time their pregnancies so that they would have millennium babies. It seems unlikely that the princess was worried about a date because after six years of childless marriage she probably would be delighted to get pregnant at all.

It is precisely because she has been unlucky for six years that the Japanese media went baby mad when they heard about the possible patter of tiny Imperial feet. But does this give the public the right to know immediately? It's a question that those who leaked the news, and those who scooped the rest of the journalistic community should be asking.

Any woman who is or has been pregnant will tell you that the first few weeks and months are the worst. Many feel nauseous almost constantly as their bodies adjust to the massive hormonal changes taking place. Most ordinary people try to keep their pregnancy a secret at this time just in case something goes wrong.

The doctors said that Masako's case was typical. Many women, they said, miscarry in the seventh or eighth week of pregnancy. But most women don't have to do so in the public glare. Even Britain's Princess Diana, who was routinely hounded by the world's media, was able to keep her two pregnancies a secret until she felt the time was right for an announcement.

News organizations might argue that they should not refrain from publishing news when it crosses their desks. If they indulge in self-censorship, some would say, they are not performing their function of disseminating information. Despite the fact that I am quick to criticize the Japanese media for not trying or bothering to report news beyond what government officials tell them, this time I think they went too far.

But it's not just journalists who are to blame for Masako's misery. Someone, somewhere knows where the leak about Masako's pregnancy came from. This time it was not just a question of looking at the cut of her clothes or the height of her heels — signs Japan's media has used in the past to draw the conclusion that the princess is expecting. That person, official or otherwise, needs to learn to keep their mouth shut when it comes to such delicate matters.

Now of course the Imperial Household Agency, which is already miserly with information, is likely to be even more paranoid about saying anything about the princess' movements. Japanese journalists who have had their wrists severely slapped this time are likely to be even more cautious about the way they report on the Imperial family. Perhaps the only good that has come out of this is that Masako may now be able to enjoy a little peace and quiet.

Shukan ST: Jan. 14, 2000

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