A Japanese princess is giving up her royal status to marry a commoner she fell in love with because of his ‘bright smiles like the sun’.
Japanese Emperor Akihito’s oldest grandchild, Princess Mako, 25, said on Sunday she will marry Kei Komuro, who she met while the pair were classmates at Tokyo’s International Christian University.
But women are not allowed to succeed Japan’s throne, meaning Princess Mako will lose her royal status once she weds 25-year-old Mr Komuro, who is a commoner.
Japanese Princess Mako (pictured) is set to lose her royal status after she announced she planned to marry a commoner
Princess Mako (right) is engaged to Kei Komuro (left). But in Japan women are not allowed to succeed the throne, meaning that when the pair, both 25, tie the knot, she will lose her status
At a news conference, Princess Mako said: ‘First I was attracted by his bright smiles like the sun.’
She revealed they talked for the first time at the event for students ahead of a study-abroad program, and then started dating.
Over time, Princess Mako said she learned he is ‘a sincere, strong-minded, hard worker, and he has a big heart’.
The couple had a long-distance relationship while studying overseas – Princess Mako in Britain and Mr Komuro in the U.S. – for one year.
Then Mr Komuro, a legal assistant who loves playing jazz piano, proposed to her after dinner in December 2013.
Princess Mako has since introduced him to her parents, Prince Akishino, second in line to the Chrysanthemum throne, and Princess Kiko, as someone she wished to ‘share her future with.’
Japanese Emperor Akihito’s oldest grandchild, Princess Mako (right), 25, said on Sunday she will marry Kei Komuro (left), who she met while the pair were classmates at a Tokyo university
At a news conference (left and right), Princess Mako said: ‘First I was attracted by his bright smiles like the sun.’
Mr Komuro said he was so thankful and happy to have been accepted by her parents, and her grandparents, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. Mr Komuro pledged to have ‘a relaxed and peaceful’ home together.
‘Having a family still goes beyond my imagination, but I hope to make one that is warm, comfortable and filled with smiles,’ Princess Mako said.
Details of their wedding have not been decided, and palace officials say the ceremony is expected sometime around autumn next year after a series of rituals, including one that authorizes the engagement.
People in Japan watched news of the announcement on a street monitor (pictured). The news is not necessarily good for the future of a royal family facing concerns about a declining population to keep their 2,000-year-old bloodline going
The happy news is not necessarily good news for the future of a royal family facing concerns about a declining population to keep their 2,000-year-old bloodline going.
Princess Mako’s 83-year-old grandfather, Emperor Akihito, has expressed a desire to abdicate and is expected to do so in late 2018. He’ll be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito. Next in line is Akishino, Naruhito’s younger brother. After that, the only person left in the line of succession is Princess Mako’s little brother. Akihito’s three other grandchildren are all women.
Those who are concerned about the future of the royal family want to allow women to succeed the throne and others to keep their royal status so they can keep performing public duties, but a government panel on the emperor’s abdication avoided the divisive issue.