Gil Matos-Sequí comments

@zichi

Not all countries in the world are banned from entry. Most Western countries are but certain Asian countries are not banned, China, South Korea, Singapore, to name three are not banned.

@zichi

You know what they say about opinions. Everybody has them.

@itsonlyrocknroll

Precisely. She made the choice which was appropriate for her. May she be happy. I sincerely wish her the best of luck and all the happiness in. the world. However the role of a government institution is not to serve the happiness of a single person. As John F. Kennedy said, "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". The role of a monarch and the institution surrounding it is very difficult and requires a great deal of self sacrifice for the benefit of the nation. They are public servants and serve the nation. It is not for everyone. Mako-san decided to opt out. She is completely entitled to do so and has good reason. She can now lead a private, quiet, and contented life hopefully.

@cleo

The job of the Japanese Imperial Family is to represent the Japanese nation. They work for the nation. You certainly do not have to jump through hoops to obtain Japanese nationality. However if you are not a Japanese national or citizen the Imperial Family does not affect you in any way. They do not work for you or represent you. It is a matter for the Japanese who their sovereign heads of state are and how they are managed.

@cleo

If you are a Japanese national and/or citizen you can vote and change the system in that way. Various political parties in Japan have proposed changes to the Imperial House Law.

@itsonlyrocknroll

Monarchy is an institution of state. Monarchs are heads of state. Their work and lives are overseen by the state and by the Prime Minister in the case of Japan. You can not separate monarchy from the state, except by dissolving it and then they become commoners and civilians like everyone else. If that is what you want fine. However what people seem to want is that the monarchy be arranged as a fairytale sideshow to make people feel good and happy and fantasize about glamour and fashion. This is what monarchy has become inn the West, a celebrity sideshow carried out at tax payers expense. It is very stupid and silly. Either the Japanese Imperial family fulfills its role as the symbol of the Japanese nation and the unity of the people or do away with it entirely. Do not cheapen and demean the institution and the nation in turn.

@cleo

To prevent males from gaining access to the Imperial Family though marriage, women are expected to leave the Imperial Family if they marry a commoner. As for men not being able to escape, well they can. Though the process of leaving the Imperial Family is a legal and political one. If people feel so bad for the Imperial family and the rules they must live by, just dissolve the Imperial system entirely. No more Imperial Family, no more problems. All your troubles will be solved. You can have an elected head of state, or one appointed bay committee or by the parliament, who will as all heads of state must, live under public scrutiny and within prescribed rules.

@cleo

I got your comments and those of itsonlyrocknroll mixed up. In any case the above comment was partially meant as a response to you.

@itsonlyrocknroll

A morganatic marriage is a marriage of persons of unequal status. The person of lower status gains access to the status and privileges of the person of higher status. That women can increase their status through marriage and men cannot is discriminatory towards men. Nevermind, Mako Komuro decided she wanted to marry for love without regard to status so she relinquished her status, and even went so far as to not accept the payment to which she is entitled. It was her free choice, and according to her statement at the press conference her parents supported her in it.

Former Princess Mako did indeed opt out of public life, or at least life as a member of the Imperial Family. It is said she was suffering from PTSD due to the pressure. As a member of the Imperial Family or as a public figure, public pressure goes with the job.

As far as the independence of Japanese media, it must act in accordance to the laws and regulations of Japan, but most media outlets are not government funded. The rules that govern media in any country are for the legislative body of that country to make. Not for foreign governments or entities.

@cleo

I think the reason she did not receive more support from the family, apart from the public opposition, is that the family themselves probably felt he was not suitable. So while they did not oppose or forbid the marriage, they did not want to support it either. In the end she was given the freedom to make her own choice and she did.

The rules regarding the make up of the Imperial Family are as they are since the post war constitution which reduced the family members. It will have to be changed or else the family goes into extinction. I imagine they will seek to preserve the agnatic line and bring in more male members from the collateral branches of the family. Morganatic marriages have always been frowned upon in the management of monarchies, even for males. It creates further problems in the case of females as it permits males to gain position and privileges through marriage. Contrary to the popular complaint, it does not "discriminate" against women, but against non-royal men .

@cleo

The issue and brouhaha has not been only that he is a commoner but that he is a commoner from an "unsuitable" background and a problematic history. Be that as it may she loves him and has acted in accordance with her feelings and desires and has even not taken the money to which she is legally entitled upon leaving the Imperial Family. Good for her. Lovely young woman.

As for female members of the Imperial Family only being able to marry "commoners", that is not quite so. While the Imperial Family under the 1947 law has been reduced, female members should still be able to marry from the extended family base, the nobility, or even distinguished families. They may still have to relinquish their positions as members of the Imperial Family, but at least it would not cause controversy.. Japan is a conservative society and even amongst "commoners" marriage is still today sometimes partly arranged, and goes through a vetting process.

@itsonlyrocknroll

Japan has an independent media. It is not run by the government and much less by the Imperial Household Agency. The Imperial Household Agency runs and oversees the affairs of the Imperial Family and Household and is itself under the government and Prime Minister. If it were not so the public would complain that Japan did not have a free press and that it was only a propaganda area of the government. The Japanese Imperial Family are public servants, literally born and bred, to be so. If they can not stand to be under the pressure of public life, as it is anywhere in the world, they can retire from public life. Monarchies and monarchical families have always historically been subjected to the utmost pressure as a result of politics. In many parts of the world they have even been violently killed as a result of politics and public pressure. Japan is lucky in this regard. It is a disciplined society and the Imperial Family reflects this and is managed in equal measure, thus it has been spared the violence of revolution. Princess Mako opted out of a public life as a member of the Imperial Family. It is understandable given the pressures of public life faced by all public officials the world over. May she now enjoy a happy life as a private individual and "commoner"

@noriahojanen

Monarchy and the legitimacy of monarchies do not operate according to the rules of popular democracy. If they are to act as popular democracies they fail. So factors granting legitimacy have to be logical and rule based on the principles of what monarchy is and what it offers to the society and nation. Otherwise just have an elected head of state. Even if matrilineal descent is to be considered, the Imperial Family is too small for the Imperial system to remain viable.Female members will not be able to marry each other, and morganatic marriages produce many problems. Europe has continually relaxed the rules, and things get worse the more the rules are relaxed. It does not make sense for Japan to follow the Western example. Better to just do away with the Imperial system altogether.

@happyhere

According the post war constitution the Imperial Family is comprised solely of the descendants of Emperor Heisei, not Emperor Meiji. Collateral branches of the family were cut off. Hence the present trouble.

@AustPaul

I agree with you. Ultimately it is up to the Japanese people to decide, if they retain the Imperial system, and how it is governed. As per the postwar constitution the Japanese Emperor is the living symbol of the Japanese nation and of the unity of the Japanese people. Only the the Japanese nation and people can decide.

@noriahojanen

It is true that there have been disruptions and succession crises during the ancient period, I think it is safe to say that given the vigilance which the Imperial Family lived under, with very little to no privacy, we can have faith in the documented history. Beyond that, with more and more genetic history being done on the Japanese people in general, it should be possible to carry out genetic research on the Imperial Family.

As for the prohibition on matrilineal descent, indeed, the Meiji Reforms sought to harmonize Japan with the West, where agnatic succession was also the rule until very recently. The relaxation of the rules has not solved any problems in the West though, but created more. If the tradition can not be continued, it is best to make a clean break of it than to have a decadent and costly institution. The purpose of having rules is to provide stability and continuity, which Japan has thankfully enjoyed more of than most of the world, including it counterparts on the Asian continent and certainly in the West.

@Seesaw7

Royal Families exist in many countries, but in most of the rest of the world they have fallen into decadence and disrepute and this has led to revolutions in which said royal families have been killed. The Imperial Family of Japan survives, precisely because they are held to very strict standards and rules. If they become lax they will end up like Europe and the West.

@rainyday

The 1947 Imperial House Law will have to be changed, - in accordance with history and cultural practice. The 1947 Law is particularly troublesome because it removed the collateral branches of the family, and thus reduced the possibility of regeneration. However if members of collateral branches are adopted into the main branch that would help solve the problem. However the tendency towards morganatic marriages will not stop with this simple measure. For a regeneration of the Imperial Family to occur at least some of the collateral branches must be reinstated permitting legitimate marriage of equals and guaranteeing legitimacy and survival.

@noriahojanen

The legendary and mythical kinship history of the Imperial Family and of Japan does not begin with Amaterasu. It begins with Izanagi and Izanami.

@rainyday

The historically documented history of the Imperial Family is well documented since the 29th Emperor Kinmei. Beyond that that is is historical and of course archeological evidence going back to the 9th Emperor Kaika. It is only beyond that point in which we enter into prehistoric territory.

The problem is not having a woman as empress. that has happened in the past. There problem is the line of succession which by tradition and history in Japan is according to agnatic succession and kinship, in other words patrilineal descent. A woman defended according to the rules of agnatic kinship may sit on the throne, but her children, if the are by a spouse who is not agnatic imperial descendent, may not, regardless of sex.

@itsonlyrocknroll

It is not the job of the Imperial Household Agency to support decisions of a member of the family if they go against the interests of the Imperial Family, the state., and society It is their job to help Princess Mako to fulfill her duty. Princess Mako however decided that she prefers to marry a commoner who is not suitable to become a member of the Imperial Family. Therefore she has chosen to leave the Imperial Family.

The Imperial Family is not a family like Any other. They have job and a duty to fulfill. If they can not carry out their jobs and duties but wish to retain their privileges, they will end up with their heads chopped off in a revolution as has happened in much of the rest of the world. For them duty and obligation must come first. If they can not perform, they must step down, as former Princess Mako has just done.

Monarchy is an institution of state. Royals are not private citizens. Every decision they make is a matter of state. I wish Mako-sama and Mr. Komuro the very best and happiness in their future lives, as commoners.

If Japan wishes to follow the globalist experiment good luck. It has not worked out so well for those for those espousing and forcing this experiment on others. Common culture, language, and values and of course laws and customs is what makes living together in a society possible. Start chipping away at these and see what happens.

As for the comments about Ainu, Okinawans, Koreans, etc these are groups which have been integrated into Japanese society. There is no point in allowing people who cannot be integrated into society in unless you want a breakdown in law and order. In that case Japan should build more prisons and detention centers. They will need them.

After Japan and the United States had signed the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security in 1960, the Soviet Union withdrew its obligation to hand over the islands. A Soviet government’s memorandum dated January 27, 1960, said that those islands would only be handed over to Japan if all foreign troops were pulled out of the country.

Russia will most likely and should stick to those terms since anything else would alter the balance of power in the Pacific and put Russia's security at risk.