A royal wedding usually involves celebration and pageantry, a ceremony steeped in tradition at an ancient and palatial building, and flag-waving in the streets by a public eager to see the newlywed couple.

But for Princess Mako, who married Kei Komuro on Tuesday this week, there was none of that. There was only the perfunctory stamping of documents, followed by a muted press conference.

Read more: 

• What you need to know about the not-so-fairy tale of Princess Mako (Magdalena Osumi, The Japan Times)
• Imperial Household Agency criticized for media strategy — or lack thereof (Magdalena Osumi, The Japan Times)
• Princess Mako's marriage a 'warning sign' for Japan's imperial system (Ami Takahashi via The Japan Times)
• The world’s oldest monarchy is running out of royals
  (Marika Katanuma via The Japan Times )

On this episode:
Natsuko Fukue: Twitter
Oscar Boyd: Twitter | Articles | Instagram

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Photo: Princess Mako (right) and her sister Princess Kako attend the enthronement ceremony for Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in October 2019. | POOL / AFP-JIJI