Princess Mako
Prince Akishino publicly defends his daughter – finally!
Prince Akishino of Japan with his daughter Princess Mako
© AFP Contributor / Getty Images
It’s a statement that Princess Mako had to wait a long time for. After the royal was heavily attacked in the Japanese press for her relationship with commoner Kei Komuro, her father, Prince Akishino, now speaks out publicly.
Princess Mako of Japan, 30, started her new life in New York a few weeks ago. Due to her wedding on October 26, 2021 with the middle-class Kei Komuro, 30, she voluntarily renounced her royal status and left her homeland as a commoner.
Since the relationship between the niece of the reigning emperor and the lawyer became known almost four years ago, the Japanese media have had a harsh tone. The Komuro family’s financial troubles had also drawn press displeasure to Mako’s husband. Princess Mako’s father, Prince Akishino, has been silent about the media’s dealings with his daughter – until now.
Princess Mako’s father speaks of “defamation”
At the press conference on his 56th birthday, the prince surprisingly addressed the journalists present with frank words. “As for the articles on the Internet, there are also a lot of comments … and some of them say really terrible things,” said Prince Akishino, who, with just this vague statement, exceeds the actual guidelines of the imperial family at press conferences. But Mako’s father goes one step further.
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The 56-year-old makes it clear that the headlines would have had an enormous impact on his daughter, who was ultimately complicit in the post-traumatic stress disorder. “There are people who are deeply hurt by these slanders,” explains the brother of Emperor Naruhito, 61. Such a “slander”, as Mako and Kei Komuro experienced, is “unacceptable” and must be monitored more closely and refuted with counterarguments.
Prince Akishino calls on the Imperial Court Office to counter false reports
Not only does Prince Akishino defend his daughter and heavily criticize the country’s press. No, the Royal is also calling for measures to prevent further negative headlines. The Imperial Household Agency (the Imperial Court Office) must abandon its taciturn attitude and actively campaign for the correction of incorrect reports. Because even now the news about Mako’s new life in New York doesn’t stop there.
“If you argue against an article, you have to set appropriate standards and then protest when they are exceeded. The negative reporting could continue, so I think it is necessary to consider setting such standards in consultation with the IHA,” explains Akishino during the press conference. There are words that more than surprise. For four years, Princess Mako’s father accepted rather than supported the connection to Komuro and even forbade his daughter’s ceremonial wedding, so that Mako was only allowed to marry her fiancé in a civil ceremony.
Sources used: theguardian.com