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Japanese princess gets US$1 million

Japanese Princess Sayako, at right, and her fiance Yoshiki Kuroda. PHOTO: AFP

Japan yesterday awarded Emperor Akihito's only daughter more than US$1 million to help ease her way into a new life when she gets married next month -- and officially becomes a commoner.

Princess Sayako is the first emperor's daughter to wed in 45 years and, because Japan does not allow women to take the throne, must leave the imperial family when she weds urban planner Yoshiki Kuroda on Nov. 15.

An eight-member council including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi unanimously agreed to give Sayako the maximum ¥152.5 million (US$1.3 million) one-time allowance, a palace spokesman said.

The "dignity" payment is meant to help former royals support themselves. She would have been eligible for twice as much had she been a prince instead of a princess.

An advisory panel to Koizumi on Wednesday threw its support behind changing the rules to let imperial women stay in the family upon marriage.

The panel, which is studying succession to the throne, said that if Japan opts eventually for a female monarch, it would have to let married women stay in the family.

Polls show public support for letting a woman reign on the Chrysanthemum Throne.

No boy has been born to the Japanese royal family since 1965, putting intense pressure on Crown Princess Masako, who makes few appearances due to stress, to produce a male heir.

Ending male-only succession rules would put three-year-old Princess Aiko, the only child of Masako and Crown Prince Naruhito, in line for the throne.

The panel plans to submit its reforms to parliament next year, too late for Sayako, known for her coy smile and her love of bird-watching.

Her preparations for a commoner's life are already underway.

Television footage has shown the 36-year-old princess behind the wheel of a car, still protected for now by a horde of escort cars on public roads.
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