Crown prince says he approves of daughter's marriage after money dispute resolved

Crown prince says he approves of daughter's marriage after money dispute resolved

Who says romance is dead?

Todays photo bought to you by the 1980s which must be when the royal photographer got his Hasselblad 500 C/M. They look so staged it's cringey.

This is actually a step up for royal photography, since they normally appear in front of something that looks like peg board.

I'm amazed that scandal was allowed to happen and that someone couldn't just have grabbed whatever few million yen it was from the royal petty cash or somewhere to make it go away.

Youd think this guy and his family would have a bit more dignity than to play this whole disaster out in public. Cringeworthy.

Todays photo bought to you by the 1980s which must be when the royal photographer got his Hasselblad 500 C/M. They look so staged it's cringey.

In all fairness, it is a family portrait which are normally staged.

to me its more the fact that they have to look like that even when they aren't sitting for a photo that is cringey.

Stop commenting on their fashion and background, the people in charge come from families that have been doing this job for 70 years or more as did their fathers and grandfathers before them. It's an art form that is/has not been seen for decades. Like vinal records it has a time and place and is priceless.

Todays photo bought to you by the 1980s ...

Accompanied by attitudes of times before that.

I’d understand it if they were 18/19, or even maybe 20 in Japan, but they are both 29 years old for goodness sake.

With a picture like that I won't want to be a Japanese royal even though I know it entails living well without

doing anything.

They should elope.

If she tuns down the giant lump sum coming to her on her marriage, and takes nothing from the public purse to pay for the nuptials, it's no business of anyone's but the two of them.

If they elope, would it not mean a loss of face for the Crown Prince? (He seems, in spite of his many obfuscatory statements to the contrary, to be standing in opposition to his daughter's marriage...) The story names him as both Akishino and Fumihito -- does he have 2 names?

Well, another dire world problem crisis solved and congrats to the couple my life is now much more enriched.

Still I don’t completely understand why that young couple’s love is attacked with such strange obstacles caused by other people’s or family member’s bad money management. That isn’t covered by constitution, I am quite sure, and therefore shouldn’t play any role. In addition, it would also delay any similar plans of a marriage for her younger sister , IH Princess Kako, if there are already or soon would be any.

"I mean, I approve of them getting married. The Constitution says marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes. If that is what they really want, then I think that is something I need to respect as a parent," the crown prince told a press conference in Tokyo held ahead of his 55th birthday on Monday.

Princess Mako is marrying fiancé Kei Komuro not concluding or ratifying a treaty.

Dads and Daughters.  Can Crown Prince Fumihito let go?

And who the heck is their personal stylist ...the two pretty 20 plus year old princesses are dressed like 60 year old obachans.

I could say the same for 90% of young women here.. The clothes are all made to fit anyone from 20-60.

In addition, it would also delay any similar plans of a marriage for her younger sister , IH Princess Kako, if there are already or soon would be any.

As long as she doesn't try to marry into a dodgy family, she should be OK.

Most royal families across the globe have managed to move in to the late 19th or early 20th century, it’s time the Japanese royal household got a shift on and moved out of the 18th!

Bluntly, I agree it should be nobody else’s business as she will be leaving the royal household and anyway isn’t permitted to be in the line of succession because she is a girl!!! (in the 21st century, dear god!).

On the style front, I hate to say it bur the girls look like they have been rummaging for clothes down the charity shop! Which if they actually had, I would applaud!

If they elope, would it not mean a loss of face for the Crown Prince? (He seems, in spite of his many obfuscatory statements to the contrary, to be standing in opposition to his daughter's marriage...)

At stake is also money. By custom a near-marrying royal couple will get financial support from the Imperial House (amounting to presumably over 100 million yen) in order to start family. Without familial or "official" approval, they would risk of missing it.

As for the current case, Mr Komuro, "unofficial" fiance for Princess Mako seems more reluctant to run away due to his financial problem (but this is just a vulgar speculation running on tabloid media. Besides, the royal support money is never aimed at clearing debts).

The story names him as both Akishino and Fumihito -- does he have 2 names?

Fumihito is his personal name. Akishino (-no miya) is rather a monarchial house title ranked below the emperor. An equivalent may be Duke or Duchess in UK. Japan's royal family has no surname.

If I were Fumihito san (keeping aside the Akishino no miya decoration) I would just settle this paltry 4 million yen from my savings and let the children marry and be happy. I think that is the normal parental instinct. Alternatively, the girl can use part of the lumpsum to settle the damn debt. The stress and negative publicity these children have been subjected to over the 2 years is not worth it really.

They look like a happy family but looks can deceive.

Add media pressure. Mix with speculation from private punters like myself and you have yourself a very unhealthy situation ready to be served, dissected and spewed back into the mainstream with concerns about their mental health.

Ya reckon?

Ok after all the money is paid they then approve. Archaic. Photoshop couldn’t even fake the happiness in this photo

Come on, it's only 4 Million Yen. can someone not help him out?

Once Komuro passes the NY Bar he could pay off JPY 4,000,000 in one month.

Best of luck.

Fordham is an excellent university - unlike the ivies, admission is by merit. As for resolving monetary issues wedded to the groom's family, whatever opinion one may have regarding royalty, there is a certain manner of decorum. And their attire. It is a conservative institution, unlike the incestuous & inbred royalty of Europe, the families of which should have all been sent to the guillotine and wiped out centuries ago. The royal family of Japan is kept on a tight budget, which is not controlled by the family, a consquence of The Great Wat and mandates emplaced by the USA.

Seems like Hisahito is staking his claim early, check the knee grab.

hmmm and who really cares...?

Indeed... every interview with anyone of this family on Youtube has a dislike rate above 80%, most people commenting about the big waste of taxpayers money... this got to be one of the least supported monarchies along with Thai, no one wants to hear about these frivolous things especially during these times everyone is struggling to make ends meet

In every photo, that little grin on the corner of her lips makes Mako look like she'd be the most fun member of the royal household to have an enkai with.

WOW, Under Japanese law, female members of the imperial family must abandon their royal status upon marriage to a commoner. They usually receive a lump sum payment from the state to maintain the dignity of their position after leaving the imperial household. Ok he will graduate from Fordham University and take the hardest Bar exam in the world in New York. It's simple he can get a loan pay off his moms ex. pimp his new bride and pay off the loan with the tax payers lump sum payment from the state and live happily ever after.

A nice poke in the eye aimed at the Imperial Household Agents.

Good luck sweety, you and your man deserve your happyness.

Does it really take two years for some rich businessman to slip a wad of cash under a table to one or both of this hapless lads parents?

The age old tactic of ostracising just does'nt work anymore. Communication is just too advanced these days and the world too small.

It is blatntly obvious that Fumihoito (and probably his wife) does not want this marriage to go ahead.

I think that the Imperial household are just trying to wear them both down.

Fumihito seems to believe that some people are unhappy. The word "some" is a bit vague. How many people and who.

As a saying goes "How long is a piece of string".

Okay, the picture looks cringy, most of u have agreed but let's see your picture and we judge. You think you and your family are better looking and have better pictures? You are all same. Don't waste your time judging this and that. Keep quiet, your mind is crap.

Kako looks like she is about to bust out laughing, perhaps at a private joke shared with her older sister .........

Most royal families across the globe have managed to move in to the late 19th or early 20th century, it’s time the Japanese royal household got a shift on and moved out of the 18th!

Umm, the Japanese royals have so far managed to avoid the sorts of scandals that have engulfed many European royal families. No known illegitimate children suing for royal status, no worries of princes fooling around with underage girls at some rich playboys private island, no princesses dying in auto accidents, etc. Just quiet, boring and stately, The anti-Windsors. Not such a bad thing really.

The headline of this news needs to be more accurate.

It should be "Crown prince says he only approves of daughter's marriage after money dispute resolved."

Look at that poor family. The strain from living such a cloistered life is written all over their faces. The health effects are painfully obvious.

In many ways they live in Japan's most luxurious prison system.

If I were Fumihito san (keeping aside the Akishino no miya decoration) I would just settle this paltry 4 million yen from my savings and let the children marry and be happy. I think that is the normal parental instinct.

He isn't a normal parent. He has to keep the best interests of the Japanese people in mind, and paying off some low-life's debt is not a good way to go about it.

I'm amazed that scandal was allowed to happen and that someone couldn't just have grabbed whatever few million yen it was from the royal petty cash or somewhere to make it go away.

If the couple intends to live in the US, that hefty cash won't be enough for anyone of them to stay as an American middle class for long, as if they don't make any smart investment.

Since Kei Komuro is intending to pass BAR exam in New York state.

hmmm and who really cares...?

Japanese ultranationalists and the Netouyos on this site and everywhere.

Once Komuro passes the NY Bar he could pay off JPY 4,000,000 in one month.

It depends, as the legal industry increasingly gets tougher each year. A Japanese like him isn't quite suited as good as his Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian peers in the jobs hunting game in the post-Covid world - the Japanese mindset of handling things, meekness. That is what we assume if he actually intends to work in the US. That pay per month in the US is only seen among the elite lawyers who worked for a long time. Kei is merely a newbie, and I am not talking about the heavy competition that he will face later in his American legal career.

However, I read from the Kyodo to know that this guy will focus on drafting international settlements which means he likely works in Japan. Of course, there won't be such of a ridiculous pay that you stated - unless you are in the US.

If I were Fumihito san (keeping aside the Akishino no miya decoration) I would just settle this paltry 4 million yen from my savings and let the children marry and be happy.

It is the state's money not his.

Kako looks like she is about to bust out laughing, perhaps at a private joke shared with her older sister .........

Kako is an Emperess (Emperor if the law is changed) in the making. Intelligent, articulate, humerous (as the above comment would suggest) humble, and above all, well travelled, and has lived amongst ordinary people overseas.

She has already described her time at Leeds University, UK as her treasure.

Kako is an Emperess (Emperor if the law is changed) in the making. Intelligent, articulate, humerous (as the above comment would suggest) humble, and above all, well travelled, and has lived amongst ordinary people overseas.

She has already described her time at Leeds University, UK as her treasure.

I'm aware of this. Candid photos of both daughters taken abroad show them as they really are. Both seem like live wires actually and Kako perhaps moreso. The photo here is just a stuffy official family photo. But like I said, it looks like Kako is about to bust out laughing at something unseen by the camera.

Not at all. No prisoner can enjoy awake whenever they would like to do so. No prisoner can ring a bell and get whatever kind of sandwich they would like. No prisoner flies first class wherever they go

I did say it was Japan's most luxurious prison. Still, they are in many ways held prisoner to their royal birth and the demands made on their lives as a result. They are not like the rest of us free to come and go as we wish, hang out with whomever, dress sloppy, go to parties with friends, study what you want, do whatever work interests you, etc. They have to maintain appearances and in that regard they are very much prisoners.