What is the Lump-sum Payment for Leaving the Imperial Family
What is the Lump-sum Payment for Leaving the Imperial Family?
When a member of the Imperial Family leaves his/her Imperial status, a one-off allowance (i.e. lump-sum money) will be paid out. (Imperial House Economy Law, Article 6)
In other words, whatever the reason, be it
marriage or any other reason, if you cease to be a member of the Imperial
Family, the lump sum will be paid. This is stipulated to be for the purpose of
"preserving the dignity of those who have been members of the Imperial
Family.
The amount of the lump sum is estimated to
be around 150 million yen (some $1.37 M) in Mako's case.
The criteria for calculating this amount
are found in Article 6, Paragraph 7-2 of the Imperial Household Economy Law.
"In the case of a person who leaves
the status of a member of the Imperial Family pursuant to the provisions of
Articles 11, 12 and 14 of the Imperial Household Law, the amount is equivalent
to ten times the annual amount calculated for members of the Imperial Family
who lead independent lives.
The problem here is the "annual amount
calculated for the Imperial Family members who lead independent lives",
which can be found on the "Breakdown of Imperial Family Expenses"
page of the Imperial Household Agency. This can be found on the Imperial
Household Agency's "Breakdown of Imperial Family Expenses" page. (For
some reason, there is no English version of this page. (For some reason, there
is no English version of this page, and this page is not currently linked to
the Japanese "Economy of the Imperial Family" page.
https://www.kunaicho.go.jp/kunaicho/kunaicho/pdf/kouzokuhi.pdf
The third column from the left in this
table is considered to be the "Imperial Family Members who lead an
independent life. So 15.25 million yen x 10 equals 152.5 million yen. In Mako's
case, since she is the daughter of the next emperor and the sister of the next next
emperor, the full amount is expected to be 152.5 million yen, without any
reduction.
Can the Lump Sum be Reduced?
The amount of the lump sum is decided by
the Imperial Household Economic Council, which consists of eight members: the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Vice Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Speaker of the House of Councillors, the Vice Speaker of
the House of Councillors, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Secretary
of the Imperial Household Agency, and the President of the Board of Audit. If
we ask whether this Imperial Economic Council will reduce the amount of the
lump-sum payment because, for example, Mako is marrying Komuro over the
objections of the people, it is probably not going to happen.
Also, since the lump-sum payment is fixed by law, it cannot be withheld. If there is strong opposition from the public, there is the option of providing the money once and then promising that Mako will return the entire amount to the Treasury or donate it somewhere else. So far, no such commitment has been made.
For the summary of Mako&Komuro problem, see here.
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