PRINCESS SAYAKO, the daughter of Emperor Akihito of Japan, is to leave the world’s oldest monarchy by marrying a Tokyo bureaucrat.

Her marriage to Yoshiki Kuroda, who works in the urban development office of the Metropolitan Government, will turn the 35-year-old ornithologist Princess into a commoner. It is a conversion from the Emperor’s immediate family that has not taken place since her aunt, Princess Takako, married out in 1960.

Princess Sayako, who is officially titled Norinomiya but is known as Princess Nori, is likely to marry next spring, with the official announcement of the engagement expected towards the end of December.

The Princess was attending a youth speech contest yesterday when word of the engagement broke: in keeping with the Japanese Imperial Family’s extreme reserve in public, she offered only a brief smile when congratulated on the news.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have given their official blessing to the marriage and the announcement would have come earlier, but, as the vice-grand steward of the Imperial Household Agency explained, a recent run of earthquakes and typhoons in Japan caused the Royal Family to postpone the disclosure out of respect for the victims.

Although technically a commoner, Mr Kuroda is drawn from the top rungs of Japanese society and was a close childhood friend of his fiancée’s brother, Prince Akishino. Indeed, it was Prince Akishino, the Emperor’s second son, who introduced Mr Kuroda to his sister.

Mr Kuroda and Prince Akishino attended the elite Gakushuin elementary, junior high and high school before Gakushuin University — the college attended by most Imperial Family members.

Princess Nori also studied at the university in central Tokyo, where she graduated with a degree in Japanese language and literature. All were members of the university nature and culture society that traditionally Royal Family members have joined.

When not involved with official duties, Princess Nori works at the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, where she conducts research into kingfishers. Her other activities centre on classical Japanese dance and charities training guide dogs.

Mr Kuroda, 39, whose late father worked for Toyota, lives with his mother in the Shibuya district of Tokyo and lists “driving cars” among his interests.

A law student and then a financier, he left the Mitsui bank in 1997 for a career of public service. Friends describe him as having a quick mind and “performing thankless jobs out of the public eye” — the sort of phrase that strikes a perfect chord with the Imperial Family’s public demeanour. Under the reign of Emperor Akihito, the family has been at great pains to appear modest and simple.

The Princess’s marriage breaks little taboo since both the Emperor and the Crown Prince married commoners.

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