Japanese princess announces engagement

After years of disappointing speculation about suitors, the engagement of Princess Sayako to a Tokyo city bureaucrat, a commoner, became official today with an announcement by Japan’s Imperial Household Agency.

Japan had eagerly awaited word of the engagement between Sayako, 35, the only daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and Yoshiki Kuroda, 39. Some had given up, assuming the princess would stay single – just like the growing ranks of less royal women in Japan, who are opting to choose careers over marriage.