Japanese Princess Excluded from Royal Succession, Large Settlement Payment Unlikely

[Image source= Japanese Imperial Household Agency website]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Princess Mako, niece of Emperor Naruhito, is unlikely to receive a large settlement payment when she leaves the imperial family to marry her boyfriend.

On the 25th, according to local media such as NHK, the Imperial Household Agency, which handles affairs of the Japanese imperial family, announced that it is coordinating to not provide the lump-sum payment (a type of living settlement allowance) given upon leaving the imperial family to Princess Mako (29), who is expected to file her marriage registration around next month, based on her own wishes.

In Japan, when a female member of the imperial family marries and leaves the royal family, a lump-sum payment of up to 152.5 million yen (approximately 1.6 billion won) is provided under related laws in the name of "maintaining dignity."

However, Princess Mako reportedly expressed her intention not to receive the lump-sum payment, considering the criticism surrounding the mother of her fianc? Kei Komuro over financial issues.

On September 3, 2017, Princess Mako and Kei Komuro held an engagement press conference.
[Photo by Imperial Household Agency website]

Previously, Mako and Komuro, classmates at the International Christian University (ICU) in Japan, announced their engagement in September 2017 after five years of dating. Later that November, they announced their wedding would take place on November 4, 2018.

However, in February 2018, the Imperial Household Agency suddenly announced a postponement of the wedding.

This followed a weekly magazine report that Komuro’s mother had received 4 million yen from her boyfriend, whom she met after her husband passed away, and had not repaid it. This led to suspicions that Komuro might have been aiming for Mako’s lump-sum payment through the marriage.

On the 15th, Komuro was also embroiled in allegations of falsifying his career. Weekly Bunshun reported that during an investigation to verify Komuro’s stable background, some false information and career misrepresentation were found in the resume he submitted to a law firm.

Komuro moved to the United States in August 2018 to study at a law school in New York State. He completed the law school program in May this year, took the bar exam in July, and is known to have already secured a position at a well-known law firm.

Meanwhile, Mako and Komuro are expected to file their marriage registration around next month and start their newlywed life in the United States after the wedding.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.