The engagement of imperial princess Mako to her floppy-haired university sweetheart last week added to the gaiety of the Japanese nation but highlighted a tricky issue: the chrysanthemum throne is running out of royals.
Princesses are required by law to leave the imperial family when they marry a commoner, as the popular 25-year-old Mako will do when she weds aspiring lawyer Kei Komuro, reducing the membership of the imperial family from nineteen to eighteen.
Combined with cabinet approval on Friday for a bill allowing 83-year-old emperor Akihito to abdicate, the engagement has ignited a public debate — not about female succession or rights but rather about how to secure an adequate supply of royalty.
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