A victory for the internet? Scandals involving former Empress Michiko and the Akishino Imperial Family keep coming to light one after another

More and more people are beginning to realize that former Empress Michiko was truly a person who practiced self-love. Recent activities of Empress Masako have shed light on the fact that there were bullying incidents aimed at her, which took on various forms.

Looking at the Imperial Household records, it is clear that there has been a significant increase in the number of "official" outings during the Heisei era. This has been previously discussed in my other articles.

Most of these outings are not necessary, but rather are just "official" events that she created. One of the reasons for increasing these unnecessary "official" events was to earn compensation, as well as to show off newly tailored clothes every time. It is said that the cost of these clothes alone could reach billions of yen, which is both shocking and enraging. If you include the cost of the security personnel who accompanied her, the expenses would reach astronomical numbers.

One of the main reasons why I cannot forgive former Empress Michiko is that she used the pretext of not accepting such compensation for "official" events to attack Masako. Emperor Naruhito has never accepted this kind of compensation since his days as Crown Prince. However, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Shukan Bunshun, and other disreputable weekly magazines conspired with Michiko, the former Empress, to unleash a barrage of unreasonable insults and verbal abuse on Masako. I want to say, "Have some shame!"

What is even more unforgivable is that she has passed on the compensation-laden "official" events that she increased onto the delinquent daughters of the Prince Akishino's. They are going out to concerts and theater performances almost every month, even though the contents are likely beyond their intellectual and emotional understanding. The organizations inviting them are also questionable, and it hints at the interests and benefits involved with the Akishino family. Thanks to the internet society, this kind of information can now be disseminated and the true nature of these activities can be revealed, which cannot be covered up even with the help of weekly magazine reporters. The power of internet information has surpassed that of the reporters hired by weekly magazines.

The "Imperial Household expenses" refer to the "living expenses" of both Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, and the retired Emperor and Empress. During the Heisei era, it was the "living expenses" of the Emperor and Empress and the Crown Prince and Princess's family. However, Empress Michiko, who was addicted to expensive clothes, had used most of this budget. In the Reiwa era, it is still shared jointly between the retired Emperor and Empress and the current Emperor and Empress. It is believed that the former Empress is still consuming a significant amount of this budget. After all, a plain outfit can cost up to 4 million yen, and those bizarre hats that netizens call "plates" can cost several hundred thousand yen.

The living expenses for the Crown Prince and Princess's family at that time, as well as the current Emperor and Empress's family, are reportedly only 5 million yen. I want to say, "Enough is enough!" With such a low budget, Masako should not be able to spend money on clothes. I learned from a comment in a previous article that Masako often repeats her outfits. Shukan Bunshun published a bashing article on "Masako's sense of money," and attacked her as if she was indulging in luxury. It is unforgivable that they manipulated the impression that the most frugal Masako is the biggest spendthrift.

I wanted Masako, who looks glamorous and beautiful in anything she wears, to wear many lovely outfits. Not the former Empress, who is ridiculed with the nickname "plates." Not the Princess Akishino, who always looks like wearing costumes of the indigenous people of the Korean Peninsula, and not her daughters, who look like tour guides no matter what they wear. I want the accounting for the expenses of the retired Emperor and Empress and the current Emperor and Empress to be separated. If that's not possible, I want them to make the details of each one's expenses clear. It is the responsibility of the Imperial Household Agency! Please work diligently.

By the way, when I read the article stating that "The Imperial Family allowance for the Crown Prince's family (Akishino family) has been tripled, and the Akishino family will receive an annual payment of about 120 million yen from now on," I shouted, "Stop it!" This is our Japanese taxpayers' money.

What's even more infuriating is the cost of the new residence for the retired Emperor and Empress. First, 550 million yen was spent on renovating their temporary residence, the Takanawa Imperial Residence (formerly the Takamatsu Imperial Palace), which has already been completed, but they are still staying at the Imperial Palace. And the renovation cost of their new residence, the "Shin-Sento Imperial Palace," is approximately 7 billion yen! This includes a 400 million yen cost for the former Empress's wardrobe storage. All of this is our taxpayers' money. What do they mean by "being close to the people"? Is this black humor?

To top it all off, the renovation cost for the Akishino family's residence is reported to be a total of 4.3 billion yen, consisting of 1.3 billion yen for the temporary residence and 3 billion yen for the construction of the main residence. It leaves me utterly speechless.

The total cost of the new residences for the retired Emperor and the Akishino family amounts to 113 billion yen, all of which is our taxpayers' money. There must be better uses for this money if they truly "are close to the people." How long do we have to be continuously exploited by these leech-like people? Can't politics do anything about it?