YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) Crown Princess Masako attended a greenery event Sunday in Yokohama along with Crown Prince Naruhito, performing an official duty outside Tokyo for the first time in about 15 months.
The 45-year-old princess, who is undergoing treatment for an adjustment disorder, last traveled outside Tokyo in January 2008, when she visited Nagano Prefecture to attend the opening ceremony of the winter national sports festival and other events.
The Crown Prince mentioned in his address Sunday the role greenery plays in efforts to curb global warming and improve the metropolitan environment.
"I hope everyone involved in various activities throughout the nation will deepen mutual exchanges and renew their feeling of protecting and nurturing greenery," he said.
The Crown Prince and Princess both planted memorial cherry trees at the venue.
The annual national gathering was hosted by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry and other organizations.
The stress-related disorder suffered by Princess Masako, a former elite bureaucrat at the Foreign Ministry, is believed to stem from her difficulty in adjusting to the Imperial living environment.
She was under much pressure to give a birth to a boy, as only a male can succeed the Imperial throne. Her only child, Princess Aiko, was born in 2001.
