日本爱子公主在校受男生惊吓不愿上学

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.

日本皇室上周五称，日本天皇的孙女爱子公主因同校“几名男生的粗野行为”让她感到不安而“翘课”几日，但否认爱子受到欺负。

日本皇室一名官员称，明仁天皇和美智子皇后的孙女、皇太子德仁和皇太子妃雅子的女儿爱子公主上周因“腹痛严重、精神紧张”，一直没有去上学。

日本宫内厅官员野村一成称，爱子在遭遇同校“几名男生的粗野行为”后出现了上述症状。

但他否认爱子受到这几名男生的欺负。

他说：“学校正采取应对措施。没有哪个孩子受到欺负。所以这不是一起欺侮同学的事件。”

学习院小学的一名官员称，从上周二起，爱子公主一直没有去上学。学习院小学是日本多数皇室成员就读的学校。

学习院常务校长东园基政说：“大概是当时的情况让爱子公主想起了之前发生的一件事，此前爱子曾因学校的两名男生突然朝她跑过来而受到惊吓。”

他说：“这两名男生并没有直接撞到爱子公主。”

爱子公主出生于2001年12月，当时日本皇太子德仁和曾留学美国的日本前外交官雅子已结婚七年。爱子的出生一度引起有关修改现代皇室典范的热议。根据目前的皇位继承规则，只有男性才能继承皇位。

直到2006年9月，皇太子德仁的弟弟文仁亲王的妻子纪子王妃生下皇室40年来的首位男性继承人，这一“危机”才得以化解。

在过去五年中，皇太子妃雅子一直努力适应皇室生活。除了陪同丈夫出席少数公众活动外，她很少在公共场合露面。

Vocabulary:

countermeasure: an opposing, offsetting, or retaliatory measure（对策）

alma mater: a school, college, or university at which one has studied and, usually, from which one has graduated（母校）