The Crown Prince and Crown Princess are pleased with the appointment of Osamu Tsutsumi, a gynecology professor at the University of Tokyo, to take charge of prenatal affairs for the Crown Princess, informed sources said Tuesday.
The sources said that the couple trust and feel comfortable with Tsutsumi, a specialist in fertility treatment and endocrine disrupters.
Tsutsumi, 50, was appointed to the Office of the Crown Prince's Household on March 1 after the retirement of Shoichi Sakamoto, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo. Sakamoto had been in charge of prenatal matters for the Imperial family since 1960.
Sources said Tsutsumi's appointment was to address the lack of a gynecologist among the group of physicians working at the Crown Prince's palace.
Tsutsumi has been a part-time doctor at the Imperial household hospital since October 1990 and carries out medical procedures there two days a week.
He is expected to work closely with other palace doctors, including 69-year-old Masayuki Kawaguchi, who is in charge of the daily health affairs of the royal couple and was chief physician of the surgical department and deputy chief of the Imperial household hospital.