Japan’s Princess Mako meets Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita before marriage

TOKYO — Princess Mako visited her grandparents — Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko — on Oct. 25, the day before her marriage.

Princess Mako, eldest daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and niece of Emperor Naruhito, arrived at the temporary Sento Imperial Palace in Tokyo’s Minato Ward by car at around 10:20 a.m. More than 100 people came to the front of the retired couple’s residence (formerly the Takanawa Imperial Residence). She waved back at the crowd as some called out “Princess Mako!”

On Oct. 26, Princess Mako will marry university classmate Kei Komuro. Since the customary ceremonies and events accompanying the marriage of an Imperial Family member will not take place, the pre-marriage schedule announced by the Imperial Household Agency will all be completed with her meeting with her grandparents.

On the morning of Oct. 26, Princess Mako will submit her marriage registration through a member of the Imperial Household Agency. She will then hold a news conference with Komuro at a hotel in Tokyo in the afternoon.

Due to the fact that various imperial events have been canceled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, this was the first time since March 2020 that Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita met Princess Mako in person.

(Japanese original by Nao Yamada, Digital News Center)