Bowing to the media's ongoing obsession with the returned abductees, the first birthday of Princess Aiko passed with little more than token coverage.
Even the "wide shows," which normally give full coverage to any Imperial "happening," demonstrated only nominal interest in the anniversary, airing the official videotape and inviting the usual celebrities to coo and smile.
None of them commented on Princess Aiko's own talent for cooing and smiling, not to mention waving, which, considering her potential future as a symbol of the nation, was truly precocious. Though it's impossible to tell if she's been coached, the possibility that she has gives rise to questions that have been ignored, at least by the mainstream media.