Tokyo, Nov 22 (IANS) The Imperial Household Agency on Wednesday announced that the wedding of Japan’s Princess Mako will take place next year following a formal engagement in March.
Emperor Akihito’s eldest grandchild Mako will wed her former university classmate Kei Komuro on November 4, 2018 at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, a few months before Akihito’s expected abdication in the spring of 2019, Efe news cited a report in Japanese news agency Kyodo as saying.
On March 4, the couple will be formally engaged in a traditional ceremony called Nosai no Gi, where the promise of marriage is solemnized before the parents of the bride.
The couple had officially announced their engagement in September, following strong speculations in the media earlier in the year.
Mako is the eldest daughter of the 51-year old Prince Akishino, who is second in line to the throne after his elder brother, the 57-year old Crown Prince Naruhito.
Mako’s wedding has reopened debate in Japan over an archaic regulation according to which women born in the Imperial family loses their royal status if they marry a commoner.