Tokyo to accept Princess Mako’s renouncement of traditional marriage payment

Tokyo, Sep 25 (EFE).- The Japanese government will agree to Princess Mako’s decision to decline the traditional lump sum she was expected to be paid on exiting the imperial family after her upcoming wedding, local news agency Kyodo reported Saturday.

Princess Mako, 29, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, and Kei Komuro, who has been studying law in the United States, are preparing to register their marriage next month.

The Japanese Imperial Household Law since 1947 does not allow women to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne and establishes that they will lose their royal status if they marry a commoner.

The announcement of Mako and Komuro’s engagement caused a stir in Japan as their marriage will further shrink Japan’s imperial family, an aged and dwindling institution considering the shortage of male births in the family, as well as due to an alleged financial dispute involving the Komuro family.

Following the controversy surrounding the marriage, Mako conveyed to the government her intention to decline the sum of up to 150 million yen ($1.13 million) usually given to women of the royal household upon their departure from the institution, according to local media reports.

The couple, which has already postponed their wedding twice, plan to marry in October and will not hold a traditional lavish ceremony,

If the marriage takes place without the traditional imperial family customs and rituals, and Mako does not receive the lump sum payment, she would be the first female member of the royal family in postwar Japan to break both traditions.

The couple reportedly plan to move to the US after their marriage. EFE

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