TOKYO: Japan’s Crown Princess Masako, treated for a stress-induced illness for a decade, is expected to travel abroad for the first time in seven years, media reports said yesterday. The 49-year-old former diplomat may accompany her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, on an official visit to the Netherlands to attend the coronation of Willem Alexander on April 30. It will be her first overseas trip since Naruhito’s family spent about two weeks at a retreat in the Netherlands in August 2006 at the invitation of Queen Beatrix. It will also be her first official visit abroad in 11 years since the couple went to New Zealand and Australia in late 2002. US-educated Masako was diagnosed with an adjustment disorder, according to an official statement in 2004. Masako married Naruhito, now 53, in 1993 and gave birth to their first and only child, a girl, in 2001
Quakes rock
southeast
TOKYO: More than a dozen earthquakes, one 6.2-magnitude, rocked a volcanic island south of Tokyo yesterday, the national meteorological agency said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or property damage and no risk of a tsunami, it added. The biggest tremor, with epicentre near Miyake Island, 180km south of Tokyo, was registered at around 5.57pm. In China, nine people were injured after a 5.0-magnitude quake jolted the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in the southwest Yunnan Province, China’s News Agency (Xinhua) said. The epicenter was in the border area between Eryuan and Yangbi counties. A 4.8-magnitude quake jolted the Medog county in Tibet Autonomous Region.
Poachers face 20 years in jail
MANILA: Twelve suspected Chinese poachers could face up to 20 years in prison for possession of hundreds of dead pangolins or scaly anteaters, Philippine wildlife authorities said. The boat carrying the 12 Chinese men ran aground on Tubbataha marine park, a World Heritage-listed coral reef near Palawan, last week. “We are preparing a case. We are compiling supporting documents (but) it carries a heavy penalty of 12 to 20 years jail,” an official said. AGENCIES
