5 Billion Yen Renovation’ and Turkey Visit Raise Concerns Over Akishino Family Expenses

The cost of accommodation at a five-star hotel was 14,730,000 yen.

The Akishino family is “once again” stirring up controversy over money issues.

On November 1, the cabinet meeting officially approved that Prince and Princess Akishino will pay an official visit to Turkey. They will stay in Turkey for six days from December 3 to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Turkey. This time, he will be flying on a government chartered aircraft. However, since there have been frequent problems, such as delays in the departure time due to the presence of the royal family, it is planned that His Highness will enter Ankara, the capital of Japan, on a government chartered plane.

He is scheduled to attend a commemorative ceremony in Istanbul, the largest city in the country, and to attend a commemorative concert and other events. As the heir to the throne, the same rank as the Crown Prince, Prince Akishino and his wife are committed to international goodwill. On the other hand, there are some who are concerned about the “expenses” of this official visit.

According to the Imperial Household Agency’s publicly available data, Kako spent 1,473,000 yen for lodging in Athens, the capital of Greece, and other places. However, this includes the accommodation expenses of the staff members who accompanied her. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that this amount is quite high for a few days’ itinerary.

Incidentally, Kako stayed at a five-star hotel overlooking the city of Athens. Of course, VIPs from various countries also use this hotel, so there is no shortage of places for the royal family to stay.

In fact, considering the security aspect, it could be said that it was inevitable. However, …….

The Japanese side must have raised a considerable amount of money since this is a commemorative visit for the establishment of diplomatic relations. Moreover, overseas visits involve other expenses as well,” said the same Imperial Household Agency official.

If it costs that much for Kako alone, it is not difficult to imagine that it will cost Prince and Princess Akishino a considerable amount of money as well.

Construction of Akishinonomiya Residence Begins for the Second Time

This is an official visit by the couple, and Prince Akishino, the heir to the throne, will also be there. The Turkish side, which has invited the Prince and Princess of Japan, will probably prepare a prestigious luxury hotel so as not to be disrespectful, and the number of attendants is surely comparable to that of Kako’s visit,” said a person related to the Akishino family.

Speaking of the Akishino family, the cost for the large-scale renovation of the residence due to its dilapidation exceeded 3 billion yen, and 1 billion yen was spent on temporary housing. These costs have also upset public sentiment.

In addition to the cost of renovating the residence, Kako had to live alone in a temporary residence, which incurred new expenses. After that, expenses were also incurred for the renovation of the Akasaka Higashi Residence and related work, as well as repair work on electrical and mechanical equipment. Including these various expenses, it is said that about 5 billion yen has already been spent. What is extremely significant is that on October 1 of this year, the Imperial Household Agency announced the future schedule of construction work, and the second round of construction work on Akishino’s residence has begun. This means that the total construction cost for the renovation of the residence will increase even more, and since it is the cost of this visit to Turkey, I wonder if the public will be satisfied. ……” (Imperial Household journalist)

We hope that Prince and Princess Akishino will be able to promote international goodwill with Turkey, but we wonder if the public will agree.