Former Japan Princess Hits Out at ‘Slander’ of New Husband
Former Japan Princess Hits Out at ‘Slander’ of New Husband
(Bloomberg) -- Japan’s former Princess Mako criticized the spread of what she said was “slander” and “false information” about her husband after marrying on Tuesday, in unusually frank statements to the media.
Mako, who officially left the imperial household the same day, canceled plans to respond in person to media queries following her much-criticized marriage to her college sweetheart, instead opting for a brief statement followed by a distribution of written responses to previously submitted questions.
“Why is this mistaken information taken up and spread as if it was fact?” she said concerning speculation about her husband, Kei Komuro, who works in a New York law firm. “It was hard, and I felt sad and afraid,” she added.
No public celebrations were held to mark the marriage and Mako turned down a tax-payer funded dowry of 152.5 million yen ($1.3 million) after media reports of a financial scandal involving Komuro’s mother delayed the event for years.
Earlier this month, the Imperial Household Agency, the government office that oversees the royal family, said that the princess had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of online abuse directed at the couple and their families.
The couple’s decision not to answer questions on Tuesday came after consultations with a doctor, ANN reported the agency as saying. The decision was made after Mako was feeling “a strong sense of anxiety,” Kyodo News said, citing the agency.
In a written response to questions about her biggest concerns for her future outside the imperial household, Mako said she feared that slander against her family and her husband might continue, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Japanese media earlier showed footage of Mako bowing to her parents and embracing her younger sister Kako before leaving the family’s palace in Tokyo in a limousine. The sisters are nieces of Emperor Naruhito.
Only men may ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, and Mako lost her status as a member of the imperial family on her marriage, in line with Japanese law.
Mako, who has a master’s degree in art museum studies, is set to join Komuro in New York, according to Kyodo News and other reports.
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