Nothing quite lights up a nation like a royal wedding, and the announcement of Princess Sayako's engagement over the weekend was the top story for many Japanese news organizations hungry for some happy gossip.
But for Japan's entrepreneurs, the upcoming wedding could prove to be a boon for businesses large and small, ranging from electronics manufacturers to fashion designers and real estate developers. The marriage prospects of the 35-year-old princess, who is the only daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and the little sister of Crown Prince Naruhito and brother Prince Akishino, had been fodder for Japanese tabloids for well over a decade, but even they had been keeping quiet about the princess's potential suitors in recent years, given that many had started giving up that she would ever get married.
So the unexpected announcement that she is to be wed later next year to 39-year-old Yoshiki Kuroda is a godsend for Japan's many tabloid journalists who can chase down all the juicy details and inside scoops on the official celebrations. But not only that, the nuptials should also be boosting demand for everything and anything Princess Sayako, who is also known by her royal title Norinomiya, might be purchasing or any goods she might be showing the remotest interest in between now and then.
News of the engagement was first leaked by state-run television network NHK on Saturday, so the first event that the nation will be watching closely will be the official announcement of the engagement by the Imperial Household Agency within the next few weeks. After that, a number of other official functions to formalize the engagement and union of the two families are expected to spark a media frenzy, as avid royalists and casual viewers alike scrutinize everything from the clothes worn to the food served.
Of course, commoners wanting to brush with royalty, and whatever they happen to have, is nothing new and certainly not unique to Japan. Always a fashion icon until her sudden death in 1997, Britain's Princess Diana was a cottage industry unto herself and did more than her fair share of producing British goods both at home and abroad.
For instance, the chunky sweaters Diana wore in the early years of her marriage were some of the most sought-after in department stores worldwide, while changes in her hairstyle spurred many women to rearrange their coiffure accordingly throughout her reign.
Granted, the Japanese imperial household does not inspire global consumers as members of the House of Windsor do, but within Japan, the heirs and spouses to the Chrysanthemum throne can shift consumer trends, as well as encourage changes in broader societal issues.
One place that has already gotten considerable media coverage is Gakushin School, a private academy that has traditionally educated Japanese children of noble birth including the imperial family over the past century from elementary school to university. All three of the emperor's children went to the school, and the wife of Prince Akishino, a commoner, was also educated there as well as Princess Sayako's fiance Kuroda. Indeed, Prince Akishino had been friends with Kuroda since they were both at elementary school, and Kuroda and the princess have known each other since childhood as a result.
Therefore, many Japanese royal watchers expect that parents who aspire for their offspring to marry into the imperial family or befriend nobility will only step up efforts to get their children into Gakushin as a result of the latest engagement, despite tuition averaging $15,000 a year.
Then there is the prospect of increased demand for television sets, video recorders, and other audio-visual equipment as the festivities are expected to boost not only television viewership in general, but also increase interest in watching the historic event with enhanced technology. Indeed, in light of the summer Olympic games in Athens this year, companies such as Toshiba saw sales of television sets increase by up to 30 percent from a year ago, as people found the games a good reason to upgrade to a high-definition, flat-screen TV set, even if it did set them back about $5,000. The marriage of Crown Prince Naruhito to Princess Masako a decade ago also caused a surge in television-set sales.
To be sure, Princess Sayako is not only the third and last child of the emperor. She will also no longer officially be a member of the imperial family after she weds Kuroda, a commoner, in abiding to imperial law which forbids women to succeed to the throne. As such, her wedding will not be as grand as her brothers, and interest in the proceedings is unlikely to be as high as it had been for the two male heirs of the family.
But precisely because she is a woman and will be one of the people after she gets married, there is likely to be more interest in her life after her wedding and how she lives once she becomes Mrs. Kuroda. For one, interest is likely to be very high in where the couple will reside after the wedding, given that Kuroda, who is a bureaucrat with the Tokyo municipal government, currently lives in an apartment with his widowed mother in central Tokyo. Where the newlyweds decide to live, and the sort of home they decide to live in, could trigger a real estate boom in that area and a surge in demand for the type of house they will be residing in, according to some Japanese media reports.
