Crown Princess Masako marked her 41st birthday Thursday by continuing to show signs of recuperating from a stress-induced illness and raising prospects that she might resume some official duties for New Year's.
"I feel my health is getting better gradually," the Crown Princess said in a statement issued before her birthday, but added that it will still "take some time before I fully resume my official duties."
The Crown Princess has suspended all official duties since last December, when she was hospitalized following a bout of shingles.