Owada: While respect for the will of the people is a fundamental point of democratic politics, a major precondition for that is that the people have the ability to grasp the facts and make a judgment.

Masako Owada will become empress when her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, succeeds his father Emperor Akihito. Emperor Akihito, 84, is abdicating next year because of his age and health.

20 stated that on Dec. 17, 1991, a month after Miyazawa became prime minister, high-ranking ministry officials that included Hisashi Owada, the vice minister, met and discussed Akihito’s ...