Japanese Prince Goes Public On Alcoholism
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
TOKYO — A senior member of the royal family has begun speaking publicly about his alcoholism, breaking a deep taboo about problem drinking, which many Japanese consider too shameful to discuss.
“I’m Prince Tomohito, the alcoholic,” the 61-year-old cousin of Emperor Akihito said Saturday in a lecture at a nonprofit center for the disabled in the northern city of Sendai, according Hiroshi Shirai, a deputy director at the Arinomama-sha center.
“I’ve been drinking heavily since I was a college student, and I don’t want you to think I just developed the problem,” Tomohito said.
The prince’s alcoholism has been considered an embarrassment for officials at the palace, which tends to keep secret anything that might harm the royal family’s image.
Despite palace doctors’ reluctance to disclose his condition, Tomohito said that he went public because “there is nothing to hide about,” and he did not want unnecessary speculation.
He said his disclosure provided moral support for fellow patients at the alcoholism treatment center.
