Kei, left, and Mako Komuro are seen at the end of a news conference in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward after their marriage on Oct. 26, 2021. (Pool photo)

       TOKYO -- During his birthday press conference in November 2020, Crown Prince Akishino (Fumihito) touched on the marriage of his elder daughter, then Princess Mako, saying, "To respect their feelings means to approve their marriage. It is also stipulated in the Constitution of Japan that 'marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes'. If they are truly serious about getting married, I think that as parents, we should respect their feelings."

       In fact, Crown Prince Akishino had voiced this view to those around him on countless occasions, ever since news outlets reported on the unofficial engagement of the then princess, now Mako Komuro, to Kei Komuro in May 2017. He has consistently stuck to the idea that as long as the pair wish to marry, their union cannot be disapproved of.

       But the road leading to their marriage was a rocky one. A press conference on the pair's unofficial engagement was held in September 2017, and it seemed that preparations for the nuptials were going smoothly. However, after money trouble between Komuro's mother and her ex-fiance was revealed, the situation took a turn for the worse. In February 2018, the Imperial Household Agency announced the postponement of Mako's engagement.

       At the November birthday press conference that year, Crown Prince Akishino said, "It may become necessary to properly organize and settle the issue. In addition to this, if we cannot reach a situation where many people will accept and celebrate it, we cannot hold the 'Nosai no Gi' engagement ceremony."

       Crown Prince Akishino had been seeking to resolve the financial dispute ever since, but the issue remains unsettled. He subsequently decided to not proceed with the engagement or marriage ceremonies, as he judged that the marriage would not be accepted and celebrated by most of the public. Mako also refused a lump sum usually paid to female Imperial Household members who leave the family upon marriage. The recent union is an extraordinary one for an Imperial Family member, involving only the submission of a marriage registration.

       The Imperial Household should have the public's best interests at heart. The activities of the Imperial Family and the postwar system that deems the emperor "the symbol of the State" are built upon the understanding and support of the Japanese public. What would have happened if the traditional rites had been approved even as many voices continued to criticize Mako's marriage? Crown Prince Akishino's decision to not carry out the rites must have been an agonizing one as a father.

       "Before my daughter was born, it was just the two of us, and now we are a family of three, and being able to spend time with just the family on the weekend is something that brings me extreme happiness. That's what I feel." So said Crown Prince Akishino during a birthday press conference in November 1993, two years after Mako was born.

       Various unforeseeable debates and events have arisen in the years between that speech and Mako's marriage. It is hoped that the challenges addressed here will provide an opportunity for deepening the relationship between the Imperial Household and members of the Japanese public.

       (Japanese original by Keiji Emori, Editorial Division)

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