Japanese Princess Ayako’s Engagement Announced
July 2, 2018
Tokyo- Japan's Imperial Household Agency announced on Monday the planned engagement of Princess Ayako of Takamado to Kei Moriya, who works at major shipping company Nippon Yusen K.K..
Princess Ayako, 27, is the third daughter of the late Prince Takamado, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, and Princess Hisako.
"I'd like to make a happy family with lots of laughing," the princess said at a joint press conference alongside her fiance-to-be, held at the agency during the afternoon.
The couple's wedding will take place on Oct. 29 at Meiji Jingu, a Shinto shrine in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, following "Nosai no Gi," an engagement ceremony, on Aug. 12.
Princess Ayako said she was attracted to Moriya mainly for his kindness and decisiveness after they met for the first time last year.
Moriya, 32, proposed to the princess this year. However, she did not respond immediately. She accepted in April, according to the princess.
Moriya described the princess as "cheerful and positive," saying that he was attracted to her for her unfailing warmth and kindness to everyone.
Princess Ayako will be the first female Imperial Family member to marry since her sister, Noriko Senge, 29, formerly Princess Noriko, the second daughter of Prince Takamado and Princess Hisako, married a Shinto priest in October 2014, and the eighth in postwar history.
Due to her marrying a commoner, Princess Ayako will lose her status as a member of the Imperial Family. The Imperial House Law stipulates that a woman in the Imperial Family lose her status if she marries a person outside the family.
Accompanied by her mother, Princess Ayako visited the Imperial Palace to inform Empress Michiko of her engagement. Emperor Akihito was absent for health reasons.
According to the agency, the princess met her fiance-to-be for the first time in December last year through her mother. They started dating soon after.
Born in September 1990, Princess Ayako completed a master's degree at Josai International University in 2016.
The princess has been working as a fellow researcher at the university's Faculty of Social Work Studies since June 2017, while performing her duties as a member of the Imperial Family.
Moriya is the eldest son of Osamu Moriya, 62, a former Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official, and his wife, Kimie, who died in 2015.
After graduating from Keio University, Moriya began working at Nippon Yusen in April 2009. Since March, he has also served as director of Children without Borders, a Japanese nonprofit organization working to support underprivileged children and youths worldwide. Jiji Press
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