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TOKYO — First, Crown Princess Masako feasted on a 13-dish special Mexican menu in her honor. Then it was shark fin soup and roast duck at a top Chinese restaurant. Then came a sumptuous French meal featuring black truffles.
Japan's crown princess has been eating very well indeed in recent months — and being criticized in the tabloid press for violating the public image of imperial austerity.
The sightings, documented by Japanese news magazines, have compounded the impression the Harvard-educated princess is taking her imperial obligations too lightly.
"If she is well enough to regularly go out for fancy dinners, I wonder why she can't resume her official duties," said Sachiko Tomobe, a Tokyo florist. "A nice dinner outside the palace is fine if it makes her feel better, but not too often."
The 44-year-old Masako, a former diplomat who married into the imperial family in 1993, has opted out of most official functions in recent years because of what is widely believed to be depression.
She skipped a rice cake making ceremony attended by the emperor and empress Dec. 28, but then joined Crown Prince Naruhito and their dogs' veterinarian and his family for a French dinner.
Masako's lavish — and publicly funded — meals have attracted attention as the economy is showing signs of faltering, and many Japanese, including Emperor Akihito, say they are concerned about the widening gap between rich and poor.
The five-member imperial household — the emperor, empress, Masako, her husband and their daughter — receives a $3 million annual stipend. The palace has no breakdown for individual shares.
While the recent sightings might seem mild compared to free-spending monarchs elsewhere, the Japanese royal house in the postwar era has until now made a show of being frugal.
Masako's sister-in-law, Princess Sayako, used to make her own boxed lunch when she was single and working at a bird institute. These days, she appears in the media hunting for bargains at discount shops.
Some critics have even taken Masako to task for leaving her daughter, 6-year-old Aiko, with baby sitters.
"Princess Masako: horseback riding in the afternoon, shopping in Ginza," said a headline in the Weekly Gendai magazine. "She's performed official duties twice, but ample private activity, with more than 50 outings."
Masako had not had an easy time as princess.
She came under pressure to produce a male heir for the monarchy after her marriage, but suffered a miscarriage in 1999. She gave birth to her daughter in 2001; females are prohibited from taking the throne.
Masako fell into apparent depression two years later, seeming to rule out further attempts to have a boy. She's been portrayed in the media as headstrong and unwilling to make sacrifices for the good of the family. Tabloids have detailed rocky relations with her in-laws.
She's also faced prior criticism for her spending. In 2006, she drew fire for taking a two-week family vacation in the Netherlands, although it was supposed to be part of her treatment.
The palace has stayed largely silent about recent reports. Officials have complained only twice: once to deny that princess cut short New Year's rituals at the palace to have lunch with her parents, and again to deny a story that the empress summoned Masako and her husband to lecture them on their work ethic.
Some say imperial secrecy is part of the problem.
"Her private outings with relatives and friends, often at luxurious restaurants, do stand out," wrote Mitsuyuki Manabe, a reporter with the Mainichi newspaper. "It's only natural for many people to doubt if officials are really telling the truth about Masako."
The top restaurants are thrilled with the patronage.
Last August, Masako went to La Colina, where she enjoyed a 13-dish Mexican meal from a special "Her Majesty" menu.
Restaurant owner Shinichiro Hosokawa said the princess asked animated questions about the food and Mexican culture.
"Princess Masako seemed well, but we can't say so simply whether she seemed to have recovered," Hosokawa said. "I can't imagine how difficult it would be to be the crown princess."
