The articles written by Seiichi Kouchi, a former Imperial Household Agency employee who was once attached to the Emperor and Empress of the Heisei era, can be read
You can read numerous articles exposing the misconduct of former Empress Michiko, which were deleted from the internet due to pressure from Michiko. These articles include "Koshitsu Zeze Hihi Jiroku" and "Koshitsu Zeze Hihi Jitsuroku," both of which can be accessed through WaybackMachine. Although Mr. Kouchi had disappeared for a while, he has recently been publishing some of his previous articles on websites related to the Imperial Household. However, it seems that not all of his articles have been republished.
The following is a repost of a previous article on this blog titled "Emperor Showa had declared 'The next prince should be the son of the Crown Prince!'" The following link lead to Mr.Kouchi's original articles.
Here is a translation of the article entitled, "Emperor Showa's statement "The imperial succession should not be transferred to Prince Akishino" was made out of concern for the possibility of Crown Princess Michiko's infidelity."
What is the origin of the phrase "Do not transfer the imperial succession to the Prince of Akishinono" and "The next Crown Prince should be the child of Naruhito " occasionally attributed to Emperor Showa?
In today's world where the internet and social media are prevalent, there is an overwhelming amount of information that makes it difficult to verify sources. However, as seen in the recent reports on "Princess Masako's horse allergy," even if the source is clear, there are cases where fake news is spread. Therefore, it is important to be cautious.
On the other hand, there are also factual information that may have unreliable sources. This is the case with Emperor Showa's statement "The imperial succession should not be transferred to Prince Akishino."
In reality, while it is a well-known fact that Emperor Showa had a dislike for Prince Akishino and the Kawashima family, it is unclear whether he actually made this exact statement. It is likely that this information spread from former Imperial Household Agency staff members at the time.
I would like to preface the following by saying that these are based on my hearsay and speculation.
The reason why Emperor Showa had a distrust for Prince Akishino was not due to his personality or the ambitious nature of Princess Kiko and her family, the Kawashimas, but rather due to his strong suspicion towards Michiko.
Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun were known for their modesty and reserved demeanor. Therefore, they were greatly dissatisfied with the behavior of Michiko, who was often featured in weekly magazines like a popular idol and spent millions of yen on clothing. They felt that her behavior was "distorting" the Imperial Household. Emperor Showa also did not appreciate it when his son, Crown Prince Akihito, was treated as a "child."
What Emperor Showa was worried about was her "promiscuous" behavior. Even the British Royal Family is often caught up in scandals involving infidelity, so it is not surprising at all if similar things happen in the Japanese Imperial Family. In fact, it is strange that such things have not been made public until now.
Michiko was said to have a "promiscuous" personality, and there were whispers that she had a lover even after her marriage. It is easy to imagine that Emperor Showa had a deep fear that "Prince Akishino's father may not be Crown Prince Akihito" lurking in his mind, which is why he showed distrust towards Prince Akishino multiple times. After all, Prince Akishino's personality is completely different from that of his older brother, then Prince Naruhito.
Emperor Showa, who opposed the marriage of Prince Akishino
It is likely that Emperor Showa had the same fear towards Princess Kiko as well. Kiko, who met Prince Akishino through a university circle, is also a "carnivorous" woman like Empress Michiko. Emperor Showa was not very enthusiastic about the marriage and was actually opposed to it. As a result, the announcement of Prince Akishino and Kiko's engagement was made after Emperor Showa's death, even though there were also concerns within the Imperial Household Agency that it was "too soon" to do so .
However, Prince Akishino insisted on getting married and threatened to renounce his Imperial status if he could not marry Kiko. Eventually, the engagement was approved by Akihito and Michiko (the Emperor and Empress at the time), despite the initial concerns.
