Amidst the “living alone” scandal, Kako rushed to a “speech contest” in a long, azuki-colored skirt.
Amidst the controversy over her comments on "gender equality" and her absence from the garden tournaments, Kako was busy rushing to a speech contest for junior high school students immediately after her return from Peru.
The PRINCESS PRINCESS continues to smile in her official duties.
On November 12, Kako, 28, the second daughter of the Akishino family, dressed in an azuki-brown dress, visited a hall in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. She attended the 45th National Youth Advocacy Convention.
Two days before attending the event, Kako had just returned from a 10-day outing to Peru. However, Kako showed no signs of fatigue and was impressed by the speeches of the participants, saying, ‘It is wonderful that you are presenting what you feel in your own words,'” said a reporter in charge of the Imperial Household for a national newspaper.
Although she has been busy, her outing to Peru caused a stir.
During her visit to Peru, when she saw the World Heritage site of Machu Picchu, Princess Kako commented, “I really feel an ‘ooh’ feeling. This too frank comment has been met with some cold criticism, with some saying that it was childish for her to make such a comment in an official capacity.
Another incident that has caused a stir is his absence from the garden party held on November 2 due to a schedule conflict with his outing to Japan. Yuji Odabe, professor emeritus at Shizuoka University of Social Welfare, said, “The garden party is a historic event with a history of 140 years.
The garden party has a 140-year history and is an important official duty that all members of the royal family should attend in principle. For the Imperial Family to visit Peru without such an important official function, it seems to me that their priorities are not in the correct order. The Imperial Household Agency should provide a satisfactory explanation to the public. The other members of the Imperial Family may see Kako’s absence from the garden party as a sign that she was putting her own personal priorities first.”
Another controversial issue was that when she left Haneda Airport for her visit to Peru, she wore a pearl brooch and earrings that her sister Mako Komuro (32) is said to have worn on her outings.
Kako’s attire was meant as a sign of sympathy and encouragement for Mako-san. Since she was visiting Peru on behalf of Mako, I wonder if she wanted to say, ‘I am doing my best. However, it is natural that wearing the same outfit as Mako’s on official business would cause misunderstanding when the public knows that the relationship between the parents and their sister and her husband is not good,” said Professor Emeritus Odabe.
In June of this year, it was announced that Kako was living alone in the former temporary residence of Prince Akishino during the renovation of his residence. More to the point, she made headlines when she gave a speech at an event in October, saying, “I hope that gender equality will be achieved and that our society will become one in which everyone can have a wide range of choices,” and “There are many biased assumptions that are passed on from adults to children.
The fact that she lives alone while performing her official duties, wears the same clothes as Mako, and speaks of gender equality from time to time must be a sign of her determination not to be at the behest of anyone or anything in response to the inconvenience of the Imperial Family.
Perhaps Kako is following in the footsteps of her older sister, who has continued to stand up for herself.
From the December 1, 2023 issue of FRIDAY
PHOTO： Japan Magazine Publishers Association
