Japanese Imperial Family Today

    On September 30, Princess Mako, the eldest daughter of Prince and Princess Akishino, delivered a video message as Honorary President at the opening ceremony of the International Ceramics Festival Mino held in Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture.   The term of office of the Honorary President will last until October 17, the end of the exhibition period. Mako is expected to marry her fiance, Kei Komuro, 29, within the same month and leave the imperial family, so this will be her last official activity except for palace rituals.

  On the 1st, the Imperial Household Agency announced that the marriage date between Princess Mako (29), the eldest daughter of the Akishino family, and Kei Komuro (29), her college classmate, has been set for the 26 th of this month. The marriage registration will be submitted on the same day, and the two will hold a press conference together. The venue for the press conference is reportedly being arranged to be a private facility rather than a facility of the Imperial Household Agency. Komuro, who took the bar exam in the U.S., has decided to work for a local law firm, and they will travel to the U.S. together after the marriage.   According to the provisions of the Imperial Household Law, Mako will leave the Imperial Household upon her marriage. At her request, Mako will not hold any wedding-related ceremonies, such as the "Noukai-no-gi," a ceremony to mark the conclusion of the wedding ceremony, or the "Asami-no-gi," a ceremony to formally bid farewell t