Japanese Imperial Family Today

    The renovation of the former Fukiage Sento Palace (New Palace) at the Imperial Palace, the new home of the Emperor and his family, was completed and opened to the press on July 14. In the Heisei era, it was the residence of the Emperor and his wife, and construction had been underway since March of last year, after the replacement of the Emperor.   https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/2d7a7c4845e4d2127589822900d2da4727fb15f1   　 The new Imperial Palace is a reinforced concrete structure with one basement floor and two stories above ground. It has private areas such as the rooms of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress and Princess Aiko, a reception area for meeting foreign dignitaries, and an office area for the staff.   　 As you enter the entrance, a glass-walled courtyard spreads out in front of you, surrounded by 11 rooms, including a room where Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress listen to lectures from experts, a rest room for visitor...

  His Majesty the Emperor is planning to attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics to be held at the National Stadium on March 23 and declare the opening of the games, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/3d8df628ee1306697c98ccf4f655877e5eaba36e   According to reports, the opening ceremony will be attended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and heads of state. HM the Emperor, who will serve as the honorary president of the Tokyo Olympics, will declare the event open. Her Majesty the Empress is not expected to attend the ceremony, as it will be held without an audience due to measures to combat the spread of the new coronavirus and the attendance of related people will be limited. 　 His Majesty is scheduled to meet with IOC members and heads of state at the Imperial Palace and on 22-23rd. All spectating by members of the Imperial Family at the various events will be cancelled, in light of the fact that there will be no specta...

  At the eighth meeting of the government's expert panel held recently, it was decided to consider the issue of the dwindling number of successors to the throne, focusing on two proposals: the creation of a female monarchy and the return of former members of the Imperial Family to the Imperial Register. This means that the realization of "Emperor Aiko," which is desired by most of the Japanese people, has become a distant prospect.   Kei Komuro as a Barrier to "Emperor Aiko"? One of the women's weekly magazines, "Josei Seven," carried this headline. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/60baabb01925260646a1cc3eae50441f9408b3f6?page=1   According to the report, the presence of Kei Komuro, the unofficial fiancee of Mako, the eldest daughter of the Akishino family, is causing the debate to stagnate.   There is no doubt that the majority of the Japanese people want to see a "female emperor," and more specifically, the accession ...

    At the eighth meeting of the advisory panel (chaired by Atsushi Seike, former president of Keio University), which discusses measures to ensure a stable succession to the throne, it was confirmed that the panel will narrow down its discussion to two proposals as measures to reduction of the number of members of the imperial family: the establishment of a "female monarchy" so that female members of the IF can maintain their status as members of the IF after marriage, and the acquisition of the IF by male members of the former IF. Mr. Seike told reporters after the meeting. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/18c9859cb673eca4263d4fc8863fee4bff192a4d   In other words, the accession to the throne of the female emperor by Aiko, the daughter of the current emperor, has been postponed for the time being.   　 Based on this policy, the advisory panel plans to compile a report to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Based on the report, the government will report the...

  The statement by the Secretary of the Imperial Household Agency, "I understand that His Majesty the Emperor is concerned about this. The statement by the Secretary of the IHA, "I understand that His Majesty the Emperor is concerned," has been the subject of much speculation and interpretation.   “Nishimura Rebellion”?   On June 25, at a regular press conference, Yasuhiko Nishimura, Secretary of the IHA, said, "I understand that His Majesty the Emperor is concerned about the spread of the new coronavirus due to the holding of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. This was described as a "Nishimura Rebellion" by AERA dot., an online magazine affiliated with the Asahi Shimbun. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/841dece5bc561fe90eafd4f665e440b19e874bb3   In this article, a government official said that Secretary Nishimura did not make any prior arrangements with the Prime Minister's Office before making this statement. The Prime Minister...

    In a regular press conference on Thursday, Yasuhiko Nishimura, secretary of the Imperial Household Agency, said that His Majesty is concerned about the spread of the new coronavirus and that "I understand that he is concerned about whether the hosting of Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic will lead to the spread of the infection.”   https://digital.asahi.com/articles/ASP6S54Z2P6SUTIL02L.html?iref=pc_extlink   Secretary Nishimura also said, "I hope that they will take all possible measures to prevent the spread of infection at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, where His Majesty will serve as honorary president.   The Japanese Constitution stipulates that the Emperor shall not be involved in national affairs (Articles 3 and 4), and it is extremely unusual for the Emperor to express such concern, even indirectly. It is believed that the Secretary of the IHA attempted to strike a balance between the symbolic emperor system and the Emperor’s strong feelin...

Three cases of bullying by Kei Komuro against his classmates from his elementary school days have been reported so far.   (1) The first victim was A, a male classmate from the elementary school attached to the National College of Music.   A was a good friend of Kei, but he started to be bullied by Kei in the summer of his fifth year after Kei's father's suicide. Kei, together with the kid leader, bullied A by calling him nicknames, singing songs that made fun of his nicknames, deliberately not showing up for meetings with A, and laughing when he saw A looking for Kei. He also kicked a ball at A at close range with several classmates under the guise of soccer practice, shouted at A :"Don't come to school!” from the classroom window. He was often absent from school and the bullying continued until they both graduated from elementary school. In addition, Weekly Bunshun also interviewed another classmate from elementary school, B, who admitted that there had been b...

  Mysterious Death of Three Family Members   Kei Komuro's father, Toshikatsu Komuro, who was a public servant, committed suicide in 2002 when Kei was 10 years old. The cause is said to have been his wife Kayo's (Kei's mother) rough spending. He was required to pay for luxury cars, a two-family house, Kei's music school tuition and violin lessons... expenses that could not be covered by a civil servant's income. When Toshikatsu became ill, he went home to recuperate, but Kayo went to pick him up and forcefully brought him back. Shortly thereafter, at the age of 38, Toshikatsu committed suicide by hanging himself on a riverbed.   Toshikatsu's father (Kei's grandfather), who was shocked by his son's death and was further abused by Kayo, "He (Toshikatsu) committed suicide because you didn't love him enough!", also committed suicide soon after. After losing her son and husband one after another, Toshikatsu's mother (Kei's grand...

    Komuro's Mother's Alleged Illegal Receipt of Survivor’s Pension First Aired on Terrestrial TV The alleged fraudulent receipt of the survivor's pension by Komuro's mother, Kayo, is one of the major scandals that have raised many questions from the Japanese people about the marriage of Mako Akishino and Kei Komuro, along with the 4 million yen debt issue, which is the reason for their opposition. It is said to show that Kayo Komuro is greedy and not law-abiding. According to one theory, the total amount of the survivor's pension that was illegally received by Kayo Komuro is said to be as much as 20 million yen (some $182K).   After being reported in a weekly magazine, this issue has been ignored by newspapers and terrestrial TV for a long time, but was picked up on terrestrial TV for the first time on the afternoon of the 13th in the Nippon Television talk show "SOKODERAITE COMMITTEE.”     What is Allegation of Illegal Receipt of Survivor's ...

  What is Female Monarchy?   The Female monarchy is a monarchy of the Japanese Imperial Family that is headed by a female member of the Imperial Family (an imperial prince or queen), which does not exist currently.  Since this spring, a government advisory panel of  has been deliberating on the establishment of a female monarchy. If a female monarchy is to be established, it could include Mako Akishino and Komuro, whose marriage has been postponed, and many people are skeptical about the idea.   Under the current Imperial Household Law, only male emperors are allowed to be the head of the Imperial Family, and female emperors are not allowed. In addition, the Imperial Household Law assumes a male lineage of the Imperial Family, as it stipulates that "if a female member of the Imperial Family marries a male other than the Emperor or the Imperial Family, she ceases to be a member of the Imperial Family (Article 12)," and as a result, it completely exclu...

  The Komuro Affair and Hisahito   This time I talk about Prince Hisahito, the only son of Crown Prince Akishino, at second place in succession to the throne. And this may be related to Komuro problem, since not small number of people here believes that Mako and Komuro hold some secret about IHA or Akishino family, and this is why they can promote their marriage despite all criticisms. In that case, the most likely secret is that about Hisahito. Also, this is an important topic if you have conversation about JIF with your Japanese business partner. You have to act as well-informed. It could explain the background of “ 85% favor for female emperor ” to some extent. Memo to Tie Up Press Hisahito has been perfectly raised behind the “ chrysanthemum curtain ” . His coverage has been strongly ‘ tied up ’ by the Imperial Household Agency using a ‘ memo ’  distributed to the press two years after his birth. Being never reported in newspapers, it was revealed in ...

    No Change in Current Order of Succession to Throne   On June 7, the Japanese government held the fifth hearing of experts at the advisory panel to discuss a stable succession to the throne, thus completing the entire hearing schedule. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6395455   According to media reports, the government will not change the current order of succession to the throne, with Prince Akishino in first place and his eldest son, Prince Eugene, in second place. As a future issue, the government will discuss the pros and cons of a female or female line emperor. They will take into account the intentions of each party and aim to reach a consensus by autumn.   At the hearing, four experts on culture, the performing arts, and Shintoism gave their opinions. All four were cautious about the eligibility of the female line, which has the emperor's blood only on the mother's side, to succeed to the throne, but all four were positive about the res...

  Can They Perform ‘Nousai no gi‘?   Princess Mako and Komuro are still in the position of being unofficially engaged, but if they become officially engaged, they will have to go through the "Nousai no gi".   However, due to cost and other aspects, it would be difficult to do this in reality. Mako's father, Prince Akishino, said at his birthday press conference last November that he approves of their marriage, but also said that "marriage is not the same as engagement," suggesting that even if they were to get married, they would not be in a position to perform the Nousai ceremony.   The formal betrothal ceremony of the Japanese Imperial Family is called Nousai-no-gi (i.e. Rite of Offering). It is said to have been handed down as far back as the time of Emperor Nintoku (end of the 4th century to the early 5th century), and this became the origin of the Yuino, which is also performed by common people.   To put it simply, yuno is a ceremony in ...

  Distrust of Mako Erupted in the Wake of Komuro Documents   In the midst of her marriage problems with Komuro, Mako is also rapidly losing her reputation.   It was triggered by the April 9 press conference of Takaharu Kachi, the Imperial Heir Apparent.   https://dot.asahi.com/dot/2021041500036.html?page=1   The day before, on April 8, Komuro released a 28-page document explaining his financial troubles. The contents of the document drew a roar of criticism from the public. The following day was Friday's regular press conference.   Mr. Kachi spoke about Mr. Komuro's financial troubles. Mako has been consulting with him since the news of the troubles first broke," he said, adding that he had heard that "Mako's wishes were a major factor" in Mr. Komuro's decision not to hand over the money without discussing it and to resolve the issue by properly discussing their mutual understanding, which he had mentioned in his document. 　 He al...

 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 memb...