Japan's eight-year-old Princess Aiko has missed several days of classes after being bullied by boys at her primary school, a spokesman for the royal family said.
The revelation is likely to shock the country as the imperial family is treated with deep reverence.
Before Tokyo's defeat in World War II, Princess Aiko's great-grandfather, Emperor Hirohito, was worshipped as a living god.
The spokesman for the Imperial Household Agency said the princess complained of a stomach-ache, expressed deep anxiety, and has not been back to school since coming home early on Tuesday.
An investigation had revealed that she and several other students had suffered 'violent things' from boys in another class. The spokesman did not elaborate.
The news provided a rare glimpse into the private affairs of the world's oldest hereditary monarchy, which usually abides by strict, formal protocols and is tight-lipped about personal matters.
The princess goes to the elite Gakushuin Primary School in Tokyo's central Shinjuku district. A representative of the school said the incident may have been a simple misunderstanding.
'She had decided to leave school, and just as she had returned from changing into her normal shoes from her school shoes, I hear it was two boys that approached very suddenly and nearly collided with her, which scared her,' school director Motomasa Higashisono told reporters.
Japanese schoolchildren often have a separate pair of shoes for school use.
Aiko is the daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito, son of the current emperor, and Princess Masako. The Imperial Household spokesman declined to comment on the reaction of her parents or when she would return to school.
Naruhito is to visit Africa starting Saturday but won't be accompanied by Masako, who hasn't attended official duties for several years.
She has long suffered from a nervous disorder attributed to the difficulties of adjusting to palace life and the pressure to bear a son.
After suffering a miscarriage in 1999, Masako gave birth to Aiko in 2001. The lack of a male heir fanned a movement to change the law to allow Aiko to succeed her father.
But Naruhito's younger brother, Prince Akishino, and his wife Princess Kiko had a baby boy in 2006, who is now third in line to the throne.
The news that Princess Aiko, left, has missed school due to bullying will shock Japan as the monarchy is treated with deep reverence. Her great-grandfather, Emperor Hirohito (right) was worshipped as a living god until his country's defeat in 1945
Imperial family: Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako with their daughter Aiko in 2006
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