The prison of royalty

Wow, I never realized how much life sucks for the Imperial family of Japan.

Japundit has an interesting piece today about Princess Sayako, who is giving up her status as royalty to marry a regular Joe, and the life she is leaving behind.

The Imperial Household Agency, part of the Japanese government, controls every aspect of the public life of the Imperial family, and a large part of their private life. The agency determines how their time is spent in official duties, where they go, what they wear, who they see, and, for the most part, what they say.

Nobody in the family can even have his/her own private telephone. Crazy stuff.

The article’s really eye-opening; I’d like to read more on the subject.