No wonder people say they are selfish.” The Depths of Akishino and Kako’s “Separation Problem

On June 30, the Imperial Household Agency announced that Princess Kako was living alone with her family. Since the beginning of this year, this has been reported in several media outlets, so we cannot deny the feeling that we are too late.

The plan was to renovate the Akishino Palace and integrate the surrounding buildings with the palace residence in response to the large increase in staff since Prince Akishino became the heir to the throne and to the fact that the building had deteriorated. Construction work was carried out until September 2010, during which time the family lived in a temporary residence (now an annex) built next door.

The couple and their eldest son, Eugene, moved into the newly renovated residence in March 2011, and the annex is being used as office space for the staff.

However, the plan to use the annex as office space was changed, and the function of the private room was left unchanged, and that is where Kako is now living. The Imperial Household Agency explained that the reason for this was to reduce the construction cost of the residence. After consulting with the family, it was decided that there would be no room for Kako and Mako Komuro, and that they would continue to live in their temporary residence after the construction work was completed. Since Mako is now married, only Kako is doing so,” he said.

Yasuhiko Nishimura, Director General of the Imperial Household Agency, stated at the regular press conference on July 13, “It (the timing of the announcement) was not timely,” and “We should have announced it as soon as possible when it became an issue.

He said, “There were some fairly major changes, but I suspect that the fact that we did not reveal them may have caused a lot of public disbelief. The fact that they did not reveal these changes may have caused many people to distrust them. It seems that the lack of good communication with the Akishino family has been exposed.

It is said that even within the Imperial Household Agency, there are comments such as the following.

The Shingu Residence and the annex are just a stone’s throw away from each other. There are many people who think that the option of living separately from the Shingu Residence is not a reasonable one to begin with. Ostensibly, it is said to be a cost-cutting measure, but almost no one in the public believes it because of the lack of detailed explanations. Moreover, there is a story that Princess Kako is eating her meals in the dining room of her private room in the Shingu Residence.

What is the truth behind the separation?

It is said to be the strained relationship between Prince Akishino and Princesses Mako and Kako. In overturning what had originally been decided, the reason was cost saving, but I don’t understand why it was necessary to save expenses at all. Therefore, it is natural to assume that there was a reason other than expenses, and as has been discussed, it seems highly likely that Kako wished to live separately and that Mako supported it.

Some within the Imperial Household Agency have commented, “Considering her position, it seems that she is trying to push her ‘private’ side through,” while others have said harshly, “It might be said that she is being selfish.

Kako is said to have confirmed a series of news reports on her smartphone.