Mako leaves many things behind. She has had mental health issues due to the stresses, has abandoned her royal status, and – in a nod to press accusations around Komuro – has declined to accept a $1.4 million parting gift from the Imperial Household. Her exit also leaves the Imperial Family one princess down: It now numbers only 17 members. This situation is forcing Japan to take a look at its Imperial Household laws and its shrinking royal family. More broadly, it is raising questions over the role of women in a society that suffers under one of the world’s lowest glass ceilings.
onsdag 27. oktober 2021
Japan’s incredible shrinking lmperial Family
Japan’s hit royal dramedy – if it were a TV show it might be titled The Perils of Princess Mako – finally came to an end on Tuesday with the young royal’s marriage to her college sweetheart, Kei Komuro. The couple has – hopefully – the happy ending they sought. It has not been easy: Komuro’s status as a commoner, and his family’s financial issues, have made him and his four-year wooing of the princess a tortured courtship that has taken place under the glare of a deeply intrusive media.
Mako leaves many things behind. She has had mental health issues due to the stresses, has abandoned her royal status, and – in a nod to press accusations around Komuro – has declined to accept a $1.4 million parting gift from the Imperial Household. Her exit also leaves the Imperial Family one princess down: It now numbers only 17 members. This situation is forcing Japan to take a look at its Imperial Household laws and its shrinking royal family. More broadly, it is raising questions over the role of women in a society that suffers under one of the world’s lowest glass ceilings.
Mako leaves many things behind. She has had mental health issues due to the stresses, has abandoned her royal status, and – in a nod to press accusations around Komuro – has declined to accept a $1.4 million parting gift from the Imperial Household. Her exit also leaves the Imperial Family one princess down: It now numbers only 17 members. This situation is forcing Japan to take a look at its Imperial Household laws and its shrinking royal family. More broadly, it is raising questions over the role of women in a society that suffers under one of the world’s lowest glass ceilings.
