Have a good trip

Just for once, I'd like to see them hug and kiss each other, even if only on the cheek, like Prince William and Kate might do.

No goodbye hug? Maybe they quarreled the night before

Why say goodbye? He should take her with him! The only times she really enjoys herself is when she is in a Western environment. A highly educated fluent English speaking true Princess who deserves more in life.

That's a nice photo - I like that they're smiling quite naturally, as if mid-joke.

Don't you usually dress to the left?

What kind of behavior is that for a "highly educated fluent English speaking true Princess who deserves more in life." ? Odd.

Camman80NOV. 18, 2015 - 08:22AM JST What kind of behavior is that for a "highly educated fluent English speaking true Princess who deserves more in life." ? Odd.

Always felt sorry for her and can't imagine why someone so accomplished with so much potential chose that life.

@ Mary Hinge Please kindly share with us more of your personal insights into the princess. You seem to be privy to inside info. She only enjoys herself in a western environment??? Wow what a statement!

Both of them are fluent in English. They are both shining examples of progressive Japanese. Something for the nation to be truly proud of, unlike the PM. But getting back to the point, I wonder how much of this photo is just for the cameras? Maybe they are intimate in real life, but can't show it in front of the camera.

Should be the other way around no? Bow to HER.

@ Mary Hinge Please kindly share with us more of your personal insights into the princess. You seem to be privy to inside info. She only enjoys herself in a western environment??? Wow what a statement!

Read Princess Masako, Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne.

It's a photo op, nothing else. By their smiles, they obviously know that and are playing for the cameras (and the masses). For those of you who denigrate the picture with smarmy comments, get a life.

What kind of behavior is that for a "highly educated fluent English speaking true Princess who deserves more in life." ? Odd.

Just goes to show the subservient culture even exists in Imperial households. What a waste.

I don't know... I just always feel so sorry for Crown Princess Masako. Her life must be misery.

I wonder how much of this photo is just for the cameras? Maybe they are intimate in real life, but can't show it in front of the camera."

It's a photo op, nothing else.

I agree completely. Hugging and kissing? Really? Royal protocol, even in this day and age, won't let that happen in view of the public.

Crustpunker: "Should be the other way around no? Bow to HER."

Why? Why not bow to each other? I see hem as equals.

"Just for once, I'd like to see them hug and kiss each other, even if only on the cheek, like Prince William and Kate might do."

I think it's worth pointing out that the British royals are as media conscious as any other. The younger royals sell themselves as more 'human', closer to the plebs and so a hug and a kiss would be good for the cameras. The Japanese royals still sell the dignified and stoic image and this scene reflects that.

Let her out of the cage

Always felt sorry for her and can't imagine why someone so accomplished with so much potential chose that life.

Wasn't it parental pressure? I recall reading that she initially refused but was persuaded to accept the proposal. Is that correct? If so, in light of how her life has panned out, perhaps she should have listened to her gut. And her parents might have had more respect their daughter's wishes. But when you live in a culture that still views women and children as chattels, well shoganai. It's your fate. Pick a platitude which fits.

I also read that she is scheduled to attend the Imperial Garden Party for the first time since the early noughts. Perhaps she is foregoing travel to save her strength for that occasion.

Wasn't it parental pressure?

Societal pressure. You're not supposed to say no to a prince.

Actually a nice guy, back in the day.

I met him a couple of times while he was doing his doctorate in the UK. He was friends with my prof.

Really down to earth.. better than Prince Charles, who I also met a number of times as a child, when he was doing his officers training at Cranwell in the 1970s.

@smith in Japan

they ain't equals. She outranks him in every possible way but mostly, her sacrifice.....

@ Strangerland

Parental pressure had a lot to do with it, Princess Masako's dad had a lot at stake.

Crustpunker is the Gaijin on a white horse who has descended upon Japan to save its women from their horrible horrible men. Nothing that doesn't fit that paradigm is acceptable to him lol.

Jeff HuffmanNov. 18, 2015 - 08:31AM JST

Camman80NOV. 18, 2015 - 08:22AM JST What kind of behavior is that for a "highly educated fluent English speaking true Princess who deserves more in life." ? Odd.

Always felt sorry for her and can't imagine why someone so accomplished with so much potential chose that life.

She certainly did not choose that life, it was chosen for her.

Parental pressure had a lot to do with it, Princess Masako's dad had a lot at stake.

Oh, I don't doubt it. But the parents had that societal pressure on them, which is why they pressured their daughter.

Crown Princess Masako bids farewell to her husband Crown Prince Naruhito before his departure for the United States

She, a former Harvard-educated diplomat, is the one who should be going to the US. The way she has been gilded and stuck in a cage is an abomination

By their smiles, they obviously know that and are playing for the cameras (and the masses).

By their smiles, I can see they are happy and being natural, not playing for the cameras.