Japan's Emperor Akihito, who celebrated his 74th birthday yesterday, has criticized media reports for misinterpreting his comments concerning the crown prince and princess.
During a press briefing ahead of his birthday, Akihito recalled media reports that said he had criticized a private trip to the Netherlands by Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife Crown Princess Masako, who suffers from stress.
The reports claimed he said he had never made such a trip himself as prince.
"That was not what I intended to say at all," the emperor said.
"I cannot get rid of concerns that what I say might be interpreted in a different way," he said.
He refused to provide much of an answer during the Thursday briefing to questions about the royal family.
"I want to refrain from saying more to answer the question," he said.
Masako, a Harvard-educated former career woman, has struggled to adapt to the world's oldest monarchy and avoided most public events since December 2003.
As part of Masako's treatment, she and her family went in August last year on a holiday to the Netherlands, the first time a Japanese royal has gone overseas for recuperation.
The emperor also talked about the bluegill, a foreign fish he introduced to Japan half a century ago.
The bluegill and other foreign species have become a nuisance in Japanese rivers by feeding on native species.
"I hope the fish kinds that have inhabited in Japan for tens of thousands of years can survive safely with people eating the [foreign] fish and keeping them from growing," the emperor said.
Emperor Akihito took the throne in 1989, succeeding his father the late Emperor Hirohito.
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