Japan’s princess Mako to marry as palace blames media for her PTSD
Summary
Royals say frenzy over fiancé, a graduate of Fordham’s law school, caused trauma for emperor’s niece
TOKYO : Princess Mako, the niece of Japan’s emperor, will get married Oct. 26 to a graduate of Fordham University’s law school after a media frenzy that the palace said caused her to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The government said Mako, 29, would marry aspiring lawyer Kei Komuro, also 29. Mr. Komuro, a native of Japan, is employed by the New York-based law firm Lowenstein Sandler LLP after graduating from Fordham Law this year.
Local news reports say the couple plans to live in New York, where Mr. Komuro has taken the state bar exam. He expects to find out later this year whether he passed.
Mako and Mr. Komuro announced their engagement in 2017 but postponed the wedding the next year after reports about a financial dispute between Mr. Komuro’s mother and a former boyfriend who helped pay for Mr. Komuro’s college education. Earlier this year, Mr. Komuro released a 28-page statement saying his mother believed the money was a gift and she did nothing wrong.
Japan’s scrappy weekly magazines and other media outlets have piled on since the initial reporting. They have examined Mr. Komuro’s family history, including his father’s suicide, and criticized the ponytail that he wore when returning to Japan this week from his New York job.
The palace said Friday that in response to the coverage, Mako developed complex post-traumatic stress disorder. The World Health Organization says complex PTSD is a form of the disorder in which the patient’s response to traumatic events can include negative beliefs about oneself and relationship difficulties.
Tsuyoshi Akiyama, a psychiatrist, joined a palace briefing for Japanese media to describe the princess’s symptoms, which he said included inability to concentrate, lack of energy and irritability. Dr. Akiyama said he expected the symptoms to improve if Mako were no longer exposed to what he described as calumnious comments about her and her fiancé.
Mako last year expressed her anxiety about lingering in uncertainty. In a November statement released by the palace, she said she knew many people were expressing negative views about her engagement to Mr. Komuro, but “marriage, for us, is a necessary choice to keep on living as we protect and value our own souls."
Mako is at least the second female royal this century to receive a mental-health diagnosis. Empress Masako was diagnosed with an adjustment disorder in the early 2000s, when she was crown princess, and is still described as being in recovery.
Mako’s father, Crown Prince Akishino, is first in line to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne occupied by his older brother, Emperor Naruhito. Akishino has expressed reservations about his daughter marrying Mr. Komuro, saying he doesn’t believe the union could be celebrated wholeheartedly by the Japanese people. But he said last year he wouldn’t stand in Mako’s way if her mind was made up.
After post-World War II culling, Japan’s royal family consists of just 18 people. None are single males apart from Mako’s 15-year-old brother, Prince Hisahito, so any female royal wishing to marry must do so to a man with commoner status. After marriage, a female royal loses her royal status.
Upon her marriage Oct. 26, Mako’s legal name will be Mako Komuro, and she will obtain the rights afforded to regular Japanese citizens such as the right to vote.
Female royals usually get a parting gift of more than $1 million to help them adjust to commoner life. The government said Mako would decline the money and skip other traditional ceremonies.
Isao Tokoro, an emeritus professor at Kyoto Sangyo University and expert on imperial family history, said that by rejecting the money and formalities, Mako was turning her back on the family and the semipublic role adopted by some former royals.
“It is a kind of declaration of severing ties," Mr. Tokoro said. “It will be viewed as practically equivalent to eloping."
Mr. Tokoro said it might be hard for Mako to come back to Japan after living in New York as a commoner. “She has chosen a harsh path of thorns," he said.
Many Japanese have expressed mixed feelings about the marriage, saying they want Mako to be happy but aren’t sure about her fiancé. Tokuji Kobayakawa, 66, of Tokyo said that although he was suspicious of Mr. Komuro, Mako had a constitutional right to make her own choice.
“It’s a matter of basic human rights. Others should not interfere," Mr. Kobayakawa said.
