Princess Mako of Akishino

Princess Mako was born on 23 October 1991 at Imperial Household Agency Hospital in Tokyo Imperial Palace, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Princess Mako has a younger sister, Princess Kako, and a younger brother, Prince Hisahito. She was educated at the Gakushūin School in her Primary, Girls' Junior and Senior High School years. She studied English at University College, Dublin (UCD), in July–August 2010.[2] She had an informal talk with the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, and she visited Northern Ireland.[3]

Princess Mako graduated from the International Christian University in Mitaka, Tokyo on 26 March 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in Art and Cultural Heritage.[4][5] She obtained Japanese national certification in curation as well as a driver's licence while she was an undergraduate student.[6][7][8] On 17 September 2014, she left for the United Kingdom where she studied Museum Studies at the University of Leicester for a year,[9] receiving a Master's degree in January 2016.[10] She also studied art history at the University of Edinburgh for nine months, from September 2012 to May 2013.[11][12][13][14]

She has been something of an internet idol since 2004, when images of her in sailor fuku appeared on television. An image repository was set up, and a video featuring fanart of Princess Mako was uploaded onto the popular video-sharing website Nico Nico Douga, attracting over 340,000 views and 86,000 comments. The Imperial Household Agency, responding to a request for comment, stated that they are not sure how they should handle this phenomenon, since they see no signs of slander or insults against the Imperial Family.[15]

In 2011, Mako came of age and was conferred Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown on 23 October. Since then, she has been attending official events as an adult member of the Imperial Family.[16]

Princess Mako hearing an explanation of a Mayan site by archaeologist Seiichi Nakamura

• December 2015 – El Salvador and Honduras[17]
• September 2016 – Paraguay[18]
• June 2017 – Bhutan[19]
• August 2017 – Hungary[20]
• July 2018 – Brazil[21]
• July 2019 – Peru and Bolivia[22]

In August 2006, Mako visited Vienna, Austria for two weeks on a school-sponsored homestay program. She stayed in the home of an Austrian man who was a colleague of Tatsuhiko Kawashima, her maternal grandfather. Because Mako is interested in art and architecture, she visited the museums, St. Stephen's Cathedral and Schönbrunn Palace.[23][24]

In July 2011, she worked as a volunteer in the affected areas of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami without revealing her identity.[25]

She is able to communicate using Japanese Sign Language and is interested in the Deaf community, like her mother, Princess Akishino.[26]

She became the project researcher of the University of Tokyo's museum on 1 April 2016.[27]

In May 2017, it was announced that the Princess was expected to marry Kei Komuro, a graduate of International Christian University (ICU).[28][29] It is anticipated that like her paternal aunt, Sayako, Princess Nori, and other princesses who married commoners in recent decades she will formally lose her title and become a commoner upon marriage.[29][30] On 3 September 2017, the Imperial Household Agency announced the engagement, which was followed by a press conference attended by the couple.[31] The wedding was originally expected to take place on 4 November 2018,[32] but it was later announced that it would be postponed until 2020.[33][34] Mako will become the ninth female member of the family to marry a commoner since the passage of the Imperial Household Law. As a result of her marriage, she will give up her imperial title and leave the Japanese Imperial Family, as required by law.[30] At present, the marriage has been put on hold due to Kei Komuro and his family having a financial dispute of which the imperial family disapproves.[35]

• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown[36] -