News On Japan

Princess Mako's marriage prospects unknown, Crown Prince Akishino says

Jun 23, 2019 (Japan Times) - Crown Prince Akishino said Friday he does not know whether the marriage between his daughter, Princess Mako, and her boyfriend, Kei Komuro, will take place, with the plan still pending following reports that Komuro’s family is involved in a financial dispute.

“I have not heard from my daughter about it, so I do not know how things are at this stage and what she thinks about it,” said the 53-year-old crown prince, who became heir to the throne with the ascension of his brother, Emperor Naruhito, on May 1.

The crown prince made the remarks at a news conference with his wife, Crown Princess Kiko, ahead of their first official visit to Poland and Finland from Thursday to mark the 100th anniversary of the two countries’ establishment of diplomatic ties with Japan.

Princess Mako and Komuro, both 27, announced their planned engagement in September 2017 and said their wedding would take place in November 2018, but the Imperial Household Agency said in February last year that the couple will delay the event until 2020.

The decision followed a string of reports that Komuro’s mother was involved in a financial dispute with her former fiance, including over educational expenses for her son that the former fiance shouldered.

Komuro said in January his family believes the financial issues have already been resolved, but his mother’s former fiance was reportedly unconvinced.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Typhoon No. 27 (Choi-wan) was moving north toward the Ogasawara Islands on October 5 while maintaining very strong intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 50 meters per second and a clearly defined eye visible in satellite images as the storm reached the peak of its development. At 9 a.m. on October 5, the large and very strong typhoon was located east of the Ogasawara Islands and moving west-northwest at 20 kilometers per hour.

Japan brought the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games to a close on October 4 with a record 83 gold medals and 269 medals overall, finishing second behind China after 16 days of competition that produced historic victories in swimming, athletics, judo, wrestling, softball and other sports, while a closing ceremony in Nagoya marked the end of the first Asian Games held in Japan in 32 years.

A Tokyo court has recognized the commercial rights of performers over their voices for the first time, ruling that unauthorized use of AI-generated voices resembling those of celebrities can constitute an infringement of publicity rights in a landmark lawsuit brought by popular voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda against the operator of TikTok.

Eleven men were injured when a traditional danjiri festival float overturned while attempting to make a sharp left turn at an intersection in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on the evening of October 3, with all victims conscious when transported to hospitals and none suffering life-threatening injuries.

Nearly one year after the Osaka-Kansai Expo closed, the former exhibition grounds were opened to the media on October 2, revealing that around 90% of the pavilions and other facilities have been demolished, while the Forest of Tranquility remains a peaceful green space at the center of the site.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

Eleven men were injured when a traditional danjiri festival float overturned while attempting to make a sharp left turn at an intersection in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on the evening of October 3, with all victims conscious when transported to hospitals and none suffering life-threatening injuries.

Police are investigating a possible case of arson after a fire broke out in the parking lot of a closed restaurant in Daito, Osaka Prefecture, early on October 3, damaging approximately 460 square meters of the property, which has become a popular gathering place for young people after being featured online as a haunted location.

A 35-year-old man has been rearrested on suspicion of persuading a high school girl to expose herself during a video call on social media and recording the footage, in a case that has revealed the growing dangers of "non-meeting sugar dating," in which adults offer money to minors in exchange for sexual images and videos without ever meeting them in person.

An Australian tourist who suffered a spinal cord injury after falling from a bridge near a popular sightseeing area in Hakodate, Hokkaido, has filed a lawsuit against the city seeking 400 million yen in damages, claiming that the bridge's railing was dangerously low.

A man suspected of stealing 24 medaka fish from an unmanned roadside shop attempted to destroy evidence by throwing the fish and their containers from his car window while fleeing police in an incident on September 25.

A 79-year-old former gang member was arrested on September 30 following two shootings in Kobe that left one man dead and another seriously injured, with police investigating the possibility that the suspect acted alone rather than as part of a conflict between organized crime groups.

A 46-year-old doctor arrested on suspicion of dismembering his wife's body and dumping the remains in a river in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, has admitted to the allegations, telling investigators that he laid a blue plastic sheet in the bathroom before cutting up the body and transporting it by car.

A brown bear repeatedly rammed a moving car on a prefectural road in Bifuka, Hokkaido, on the night of September 29, damaging the vehicle but leaving the driver unhurt, police said.