Sad news has forced them to cancel the official announcement of their engagement twice, but on Thursday Japan’s Princess Sayako and her husband to be, Yoshiki Kuroda, finally confirmed they are to be wed.
According to the palace, the emperor’s only daughter will marry urban planner Yoshiki "after the summer."
News of the pair's betrothal had twice been delayed by tragedy - first when an earthquake killed 40 people in central Japan and then when 92-year-old Princess Kikuko died hours before an official announcement was due to be made on December 18.
Commenting on the union, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko said: "We feel very confident about the decision of these two young people to share their lives together after two years of courtship."
Yoshiki’s mother, Sumiko Kuroda, has also spoken about her son, describing him as an upright man and adding: "He lost his father when he was 20 so he made all the important decisions without relying on his parents."
With interest in the couple burgeoning in Japan, new photos of the bridegroom to be have been released. These show 39-year-old Yoshiki in casual mode leaning against his car, and as a uniformed schoolboy on his way to enrol at Tokyo’s exclusive Gakushuin primary school.
Although he and professional bird researcher Sayako have known each other since they were children, they apparently only began to consider each other as potential partners after meeting again in January 2003 through the princess's elder brother, Prince Akishino.
After the nuptials the princess, who in according with tradition loses her royal title, will continue to work at the ornithological institute where she is currently involved in research on kingfishers.
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