The Japanese Imperial system has been the focus of intense coverage lately in the Japanese press. Much of it has to do with the abdication of the current Emperor. On April 30th, 2019, Akihito, the 125th Emperor of Japan, will step down. It will literally be the end of an era, as Imperial Eras are still used as a traditional measure in time: When Akihitio abdicates, the Heisei era will end, and a new one, as yet unnamed, will begin. (Update: Welcome to the Reiwa Era!)
Akihito’s abdication was already a source of huge controversy. By law, Japanese emperors can’t abdicate. They remain on their thrones until they croak. But Akihito let it be known that he was growing so frail that he wasn’t up for the job any longer. The Japanese Diet responded by granting a special, one-time exception that will allow him to step down.
While all of this was going on, everyone else in the Royal Family went about their usual business — which included falling in love. In 2017, the Imperial Household Agency announced that Royal Princess Akishinonomiya Mako (秋篠宮眞子内親王, akishinonomiyanaishinnou — but we’ll call her “Mako-sama”) was engaged to marry Komuro Kei, both of whom were classmates at college. Komuro is currently working as a paralegal at a Japanese law firm, but has ambitions to practice international law.
This impending marriage highlights a lot about what’s weird with the post-War Royal Family in Japan. The first is that Mako-sama — any Royal Princess, actually — effectively has to have the permission of the Emperor to get married. As Kawanishi Hideya writes in Bunshun Online, this is a throwback to the pre-World War II era of Imperial Japan. Back then, the Emperor was the Supreme Law of the Land:
戦前、大日本帝国憲法下において天皇は国の「元首」で「統治権ヲ総攬」する立場にあったため、議会で審議された法案や予算案を「裁可」し、それによって法律などは成立することになる。このように、国の方向性を決める重要な政策決定事項は、形式上でも天皇の「裁可」＝許可という判断がなければ効力を持たなかった。それだけ、戦前の天皇の権限は強かったことを示している。 …
今回、秋篠宮眞子内親王と小室圭さんの婚約にも、天皇の「裁可」という形式が採られた。つまり、皇族の家長でもある天皇が結婚を許さなければ、その結婚は認められないという構造になっている。しかし、現在の天皇は「象徴」であり、戦前のように「元首」ではない。天皇には先に述べたような権限はないはずである。ところが、「裁可」という戦前以来の形式を採ってしまえば、孫娘にあたる眞子内親王の結婚も、戦前の法律などを決めるのと同じ位相（国の方向性を決める重要な政策決定事項と同じ？）に置かれてしまうことになる。
“Before the war, according to the Constitution of Great Imperial Japan, since the the Emperor was the “Sovereign” and was in a position to exercise sovereignty, any law or budget brought up to the Diet needed the Emperor’s “sanction” [裁可] to proceed. For any matter which could decide the course of the country, if the Emperor’s “sanction” — the Emperor’s judgement of agreement — was not secured, the effort have no effect. This was how the strength of the pre-war Emperor’s position was manifested. …
“In this case, both Crown Princess Akishinonomiya Mako and Komuro Kei earned the Emperor’s “sanction”. In other words, if they didn’t secure the permission of the Emperor as the head of the Royal Family, this marriage wouldn’t be allowed. But the current Emperor is a figurehead, and not the “head of state” like the pre-war Emperor. There’s no expectation the Emperor has the kind of power he did before. But if this matter takes the pre-war form of obtaining the Emperor’s sanction, we can conclude that the marriage of the Emperor’s granddaughter, Crown Princess Mako, is taking the same form that was used to decide laws in the pre-War era (so it’s the same as determining the important matters that determine the direction of the country?).”
(JP) Link: The Three Reasons Mako-sama and Komuro Kei Can’t Freely Marry | Bunshun Online
Why the archaic throwback to getting grand-dad’s position to marry? One reason is the position of Mako-sama post-marriage. The Imperial Household Law governs the family of Japan. And by this law, a Crown Princess who marries a commoner doesn’t bring him into the Royal Family. Rather, she’s required to leave it.
Now that’s love for you.
The severity — and, let’s be blunt, outright sexism — of this law is being questioned by many pundits and Japanese citizens. There’s the rumblings of a movement to change it. But for now, the law’s the law, and if this marriage occurs, Mako-sama will lose her Princess Pass.
The De-Princess-ing Process Hits a Snag
So assuming this marriage happens (and that’s currently a big if — but we’ll get to that), two things will happen.
The first is that Mako-sama’s name will be removed from the Royal Registry. Every family in Japan has a family register (koseki, 戸籍) where family members and their relations to one another are recorded. The royal family has its own, separate registry, maintained by the Imperial Household Agency (kunaichoi, 宮内庁). Mako-sama will be removed from the royal register and added to Komuro’s, which will mark the end of her life as a royal.
The second is that Mako-sama, as decreed by the Imperial Household Law, will receive a lump sum payment from the Japanese government to “preserve the dignity” seen due her former position as a princess. It’s estimated that Mako-sama’s payout would cost Japanese taxpayers somewhere between the equivalent of ¥100,000,000 and ¥200,000,000 (about $1–2 million dollars). Not bad for a Royal Buyout.
Unfortunately, this payout is causing issues that might derail Mako-sama and Komuro’s wedding plans. The key issue is Komuro’s mother, Kayo, who, it was discovered, has about ¥4,000,000 (appr. $40,000) in debt. [NOTE: See below for updates on this.]
Now, that’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things. But it’s raising concerns that part of Mako-sama’s payout — i.e., taxpayer money — will be used to pay off a private citizen’s credit cards. As you can imagine, this isn’t sitting well with either the Kunaichou or the average Japanese taxpayer — especially at a time when Prime Minister Abe has been lobbying to raise the sales tax from 8% to 10%.
To compound the issue, Komuro has started attending Fordham University’s School of Law in the US. Part of the cost is covered by a ¥2,000,000 (appr. $20,000) scholarship that Komuro received. However, that leaves the question: Who’s paying the remaining ¥3,000,000 he’ll owe for his study abroad program? With his mom deep into debt and his position as a paralegal likely not entitling him to any funding from his firm, the concern is that the couple will ultimately put Mako-sama’s taxpayer-funded buyout towards Komuro’s personal loans.
Workarounds
Royal insiders are floating a plan to salvage the marriage. Once Komuro returns from his studies in 2019, the Emperor and his family will bestow a “gift” on him. The gift would cover the cost of his student loans. thus giving the new couple a fresh start. This appears to be the motivation in pushing the nuptials out to 2020 . It buys time for Komuro’s mother to get her house in order. It also sets conditions to get Komuro himself back to Ground Zero. Will the average Japanese citizen interpret this tactic as something other than a royal subsidy of a private citizen’s debt? That remains to be seen.
Some are arguing that this whole incident with the tabloids reeks of sexism and political failure. The site Wezzy cites past examples where authorities nearly denied women’s entrance to the royal family due to scandal. One notable instance is when Michiko-sama, the current Empress, was preparing to marry Emperor Akihito. Rumors swirled that she had taken a Catholic baptism. But legend and lore depict the Imperial Family as the legendary descendants of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu – the center of Japan’s Shinto religion.
But Michiko-sama was eventually accepted by the Imperial Council. The Council is the governing body over the Imperial Household. It consists of representatives from nine different institutions of governance in Japan, including the Prime Minister’s cabinet and the High Court. Once she had their acceptance, barring a major scandal, there was little chance this imprimatur would be withdrawn.
But Royal Princesses marrying outside the family don’t need the Council’s imprimatur to get hitched. While she received the Emperor’s “sanction”, this doesn’t hold the same weight as the imprimatur of the Council. And that, says Professor Odabe Yuuji of Shizuoka University, is part of the problem. Odabe argues that Mako-sama was forced to make a hasty decision about her own future, in part, because she has no idea if she could ever become the Empress. This, says Odabe, is the fault of Japanese politicians who continue to punt on tackling laws that insist the Emperor be a man descended from the male side of the family, a debate that began smoldering back in 2004:
「本来なら、内親王や女王が自分の将来を自分で決められるよう、政治家が法制度を整えなきゃいけない。しかし、男系男子を貫くならその線でしっかり議論すればいいのに、それもやっていない。一方で女性天皇問題も依然としてくすぶっています。悠仁親王が将来の天皇になると100パーセント決まったわけではないし、仮に天皇になったとして、そのあと男子が生まれるかもわからない。。。。あるいは旧宮家を復活させ、そこから皇位継承者を連れてくるにしても、それを国民に納得させるだけの論理と法的根拠を築き上げなければいけないのに、まったく話が進んでいない。さらに、皇族女子が結婚後も皇室にとどまる女性宮家の議論も棚上げされたまま。この10年間、本当に何もしていないんです」
Properly speaking, politicians must establish a system where Royal Princesses and Queens can determine their own futures. We need a debate on whether to continue the Male Lineage/Male Emperor system. But we’re not having it. On the other hand, the debate over having a Female Emperor still smolders. It’s not 100 percent decided that Royal Prince Hisahito will be the Emperor; if he becomes the Emperor, he might have a son [who would be the next male successor]. …Even if one of the old royal families [ED: one of 11 families removed from the royal lineage after World War II) gets resuscitated, and a successor is brought forward from them, there has to be a debate constructed on law that persuades the people to accept this, and no one’s talking about that. And what’s more, the debate over whether an Imperial Woman can remain in the Imperial Household after marriage remains shelved. They haven’t done anything for the past 10 years.
This dawdling means other Royal Princesses could find themselves in similar positions if they marry. At least the confusion will help keep the Japanese tabloids in business.
Updates
1/22/2019: Komuro Kei released his first full statement of explanation regarding his family’s financial issues. In the letter, he explains that his mother received some ￥4M (around USD $40,000) from her former fiance. The man supplied her the money both to support her lifestyle as well as help pay for Kei’s education. The two later broke off their engagement. Komuro maintains that both he and his mother understood that the money was freely given to them. He maintains that her ex-fiance specifically said he never expected her to repay him.
That changed, however, when the ex’s lawyer sent his mother a letter demanding repayment. Ni-Tere interviewed the ex, who said he decided to demand payment after losing his job and falling behind on his mortgage. A friend who thought it was “odd” that the ex-fiance never requested repayment helped to publicize the story, and – wittingly or unwittingly – put Komuro and Mako-sama’s marriage on thin ice.
Komuro is now declaring the matter “settled”, but it’s unclear whether his mother’s ex-fiance agrees. Some TV commentators are saying that, while the Komuros may not be found legally liable to repay the money, it’s premature for Komuro to boldly declare the matter “settled”.
