Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007

By EMILY O'KEEFE

SYDNEY (Kyodo) The Australian journalist who wrote a controversial biography of Crown Princess Masako has received death threats ahead of the release of its Japanese translation.

Daisan-Shokan, the Tokyo-based publisher of the translation, has also reported being targeted by rightwing nationalist groups.

The translation of "Princess Masako, Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne" by Ben Hills is due to be published in early September.

Hills said he has received several e-mail death threats via his Web site in the leadup to the Japanese publication.

"I have had death threats. They were saying things like, 'Die white pork!' They were quite racist," Hills said.

The e-mails were sent anonymously, Hills said, adding the senders did not identify themselves as part of any organization.

Hills' biography has proved popular in the United States, Australia and parts of Asia but has drawn the ire of the Japanese government, which claims it defames the Crown Princess and contains errors.

The book alleges she conceived her daughter, Princess Aiko, through in vitro fertilization and was driven to a nervous breakdown by the Imperial Household Agency, which looks after the Imperial family's affairs.

As a result of the government criticism, the publisher originally contracted to release the book in Japan, Kodansha Ltd., backed out of the deal in February.

Daisan-Shokan came forward and agreed in June to publish the book, saying it was a freedom of speech issue.

In an e-mail to Hills, the publisher's president, Akira Kitagawa, said a Japanese ultranationalist group visited the company's office Aug. 10 and demanded the publication be pulled.

"Just now, two black cars with ultranationalistic slogans on them are parking (next to) the building where my company address is. They are shouting hysterically, 'Stop the publication of Princess Masako' with huge loudspeakers," the e-mail said.

"Policemen are just watching them and let them do as much as they want to do. This is how your book is getting more and more popular in Japan before being published," Kitagawa said.

Earlier this month, Kitagawa was the subject of an article in the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho, which accused him of being a former member of a terrorist organization.

Hills said he was deeply disturbed by the recent events.

"The Japanese establishment is just trying to censor my book, and it really is quite outrageous. It's censorship pure and simple," he said.

Hills said he hopes readers in Japan will make up their own minds once the book comes out.

"The Japanese will be able to read it and judge for themselves. To me, it's really not important whether they like it or they don't like it. They have got to read it and make their own minds up. It's obviously going to be a controversial book. It criticizes some sacred cows," he said.

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