It’s a story that’s dragged on for so long, I’d honestly forgotten about it until now. The betrothment of Japan’s Princess Mako and her would-be husband, Komuro Kei, is still dragging on three years later. Now, sources close to the Imperial Household say Kei may try a desperate legal gambit to get through the goalposts. The question is: Will the Japanese public buy it?
Taxpayer-Funded Debt?
How long has this been going on? Well, my original story about the Mako-sama/Komuro saga in July 2018 was only my ninth article on Unseen Japan. (We’re now closing in on 800 pieces.) Since only die-hard UJ fans and Japan nerds likely know this story, let me recap.
The Royal Household of Japan announced the betrothal of Princess Mako and Komuro Kei in 2017. Komuro is not of royal blood. That means that Princess Mako would officially leave the imperial family upon marriage. She’d also receive a government payout to help her maintain her royal “stature” in her post-imperial life.
And that’s where things gets messy.
It soon surfaced that Komuro Kei’s mother, Kayo, had amassed around USD $40,000 in debt. The lender was her ex-fiance, who gave her the money to help put the young Komuro through college.
The Komuros insisted that they regarded this money as a gift, not a debt, and refused to repay anything. But the Japanese press – particularly the tabloid press – continued to stir the pot. They speculated that Komuro and Princess Mako might use some of her Princess Payout to pay off his debts. That would be equivalent to Japanese taxpayers paying off a private citizen’s personal credit cards. Obviously, such messaging is hard to sell to the Japanese public.
With the Komuros unwilling (or unable) to pay, the Imperial Household decided on a “wait it out” strategy. Komuro had his heart set on practicing international law. To fulfill that goal, he’s been studying at Fordham University in the United States. So the Imperial Household said that the Princess and Kei would postpone the wedding until he finished his studies.
Statute of Limitations
That plan, it seems, might turn out to be a stroke of genius.
According to an article by News Post 7, debts in Japan – as in other countries – have a statute of limitations. In Japan, it’s 10 years. According to a journalist who covers the Imperial Household, Komuro Kayo’s fiance first started sending her money in November 2010. He sent money to her 10 times over the course of two years. November 2020 is right around the corner. That means the statute of limitations on the first set of debts will soon expire.
However, it’s not quite that simple. According to a lawyer interviewed for the article, Komuro can’t just ignore the debt. To make it official, he has to admit to the debt and tell the debtee that he refuses to pay.
Would Japan Buy It?
Will Komuro and the Imperial Household go that route? It’s hard to say. A quick perusal of JP Twitter shows resistance to the idea that Kei can run out the clock. A lot of it, however, appears to come from explicitly right-wing commentators. People such as Takeuchi Kumiko and Hashimoto Konoe dismiss Kei as a “low-spec man” and speak out openly against him marrying into royalty.
So what does the general public think? An April 2019 survey from Bunshun Online gave respondents three choices. Should Princess Mako be free to marry as she chooses? Should the Imperial Household have affirmative consent from the Japanese public first? Or do you not care? Over 70% of respondents said agreed with postponing the marriage until the Japanese public consents to the conditions.
Obtaining that consent will be an uphill battle. In 2019, Kei issued a length letter refusing to acknowledge the debts. A subsequent 2019 Weekly Woman prime poll asked people if they could accept his explanation. A whopping 97% of respondents said they couldn’t.
Based on what I’ve read, my instincts tell me this story isn’t over. The situation sucks for Princess Mako, who has essentially been robbed of her free will in this matter. But if the Imperial Family insists on public consent for the marriage, it’s hard to see a path forward. The statute of limitations might run out on the Komuro family’s debts. But the antipathy many people seem to hold for Komuro Kei doesn’t appear anywhere near its expiration date.
