AP Features, July 8th, 2007
A cousin of Japan's Emperor Akihito drew laughs when he discussed his own alcoholism in a speech on welfare, and said he has gained many fans at a treatment center since he revealed his problem, organizers said Sunday.
Prince Tomohito, fifth in line for the Chrysanthemum throne, disclosed his alcohol dependency last month and has since been undergoing treatment at a palace hospital, overseen by experts from the nationally run Kurihama Alcoholism Center near Tokyo.
"I'm Prince Tomohito, the alcoholic," the bearded 61-year-old said in the lecture at a welfare organization, drawing a burst of laughter from the audience according to organizer Hiroshi Usui, a deputy director at the nonprofit Arinomama-sha center, which runs a care facility and promotes equality for the handicapped in the northern city of Sendai.
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 that he did not want unnecessary speculation.
He said his disclosure provided moral support for fellow patients at the alcoholism treatment center.
"Patients are overjoyed to know they've got a friend in the royal family," Tomohito said.
He said he has been alcoholic for decades.
"I've been drinking heavily since I was a college student, and I don't want you to think I just developed the problem," he said.
The dependency worsened in recent years due to family problems and a controversy about whether the imperial succession law should be changed to allow a female emperor, he said.
According to the treatment center, an estimated 800,000 people of Japan's 127.8 million people are alcohol-dependent.
Tomohito has been hospitalized for numerous other ailments in recent years. He had a successful operation to treat throat cancer last year.
The prince caused a stir in 2005 when he wrote an essay saying Japan should exhaust all other options, including bringing back concubines, before allowing a woman to ascend its imperial throne.
