Japan’s Princess Mako of Akishino is celebrating her 29th birthday today; she is the niece of Emperor Naruhito and eldest granddaughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko.
A video was released by the Imperial Household Agency of Mako and her younger sister, Princess Kako, at their home. It was taken in early October in Tokyo at the Akasaka Estate.
Mako celebrates her birthday as questions remain about her postponed marriage to Kei Komuro. The pair announced their engagement in 2017 and were due to marry in 2018. However, it was announced that the wedding was to be postponed until 2020 after revelations of money problems came to light for Komuro’s family. No updated wedding date has been announced by the Imperial Household Agency.
An aide to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, Takaharu Kachi, said about a potential update on the wedding: “We’re not sure at this stage. The pandemic has had a significant impact, and the situation has changed from when they first announced the postponement.”
Princess Mako has been more spending time this year with her family at their home due to the ongoing pandemic as the Imperial Family has been forced to cut back on their duties because of the health crisis. She has, however, participated in around 30 online lectures regarding the pandemic.
Mako is the eldest child of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko. She has one younger sister, Princess Kako (b. 1994), and a younger brother, Prince Hisahito (b. 2006). Neither Mako nor Kako are in the line of succession as Japan does not allow women to reign in their own right.
She works as a researcher at the University of Tokyo’s The University Museum.
