Aug 07 (Japan Times) - A panel of experts studying the issue of allowing female members of Japan’s imperial family to retain their status after marrying commoners is considering not granting such status to their husbands and children, government sources have said.
The possibility has been raised as controversy over the planned marriage between Princess Mako, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, and commoner Kei Komuro, continues to simmer. Some members of the panel have indicated their opposition to granting imperial status to Komuro, who recently graduated from a law school in New York, the sources said Friday.
The marriage of the couple, both 29, has been postponed for more than two years following media reports of a financial dispute between Komuro’s mother and her former fiance, who claims she owes him over Y4 million ($36,000) including money that covered Komuro’s educational expenses.
The advisory panel on imperial succession, chaired by former Keio University President Atsushi Seike, has been discussing whether to allow female members to remain in the royal family after marriage by establishing their own imperial branches.
Under the current rule, female members have to leave the family if they marry a commoner.
According to minutes of the panel’s meeting on July 9, all six members agreed in principle that imperial status should not be granted to the spouses and children of female imperial members for the time being.
