The Princess & The Commoner: How A Royal Wedding Divided Japan

This week, an unusually modest wedding brought an end to four years of torment for Princess Mako of Japan and her 'commoner' husband Kei Komuro, as the newlyweds plan to quietly leave their home country for a new life in the United States.

The usual pomp and ceremony of an Imperial wedding was nowhere to be seen, as public disapproval of the union has left Mako with PTSD, after conservatives hounded the couple because they felt her groom simply wasn't good enough to join the Royal family.

To find out why this marriage has been so controversial, and what it tells us about the state of gender equality in Japan, The Quicky speaks to an expert in Japanese culture and history as we consider why the couple have been dubbed 'the new Harry and Meghan'.

CREDITS 

Host/Producer: Claire Murphy

Executive Producer: Siobhán Moran-McFarlane

Audio Producer: Ian Camilleri

Guest:

Dr Thomas Baudinette - Cultural Anthropologist and Senior Lecturer in International Studies with a special focus on Japan at Macquarie University.

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