Princess abdicates to wed

THE only daughter of Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko married a childhood friend yesterday and began life as a commoner, leaving the royal palace and giving up the title of princess so the wedding could take place.

Thousands cheered 36-year-old Princess Sayako as she was driven from the palace to a hotel where she married Yoshiki Kuroda, a Tokyo city employee.

It was the first time an emperor’s daughter had married a commoner. Afterward the former princess, now known as Sayako Kuroda, moved to a Tokyo apartment to begin life as a wife and taxpayer.