Born Nobuko Asō in Tokyo in 1955, the Princess is the third daughter and youngest child of Takakichi Asō, and the sister of former prime minister, Tarō Asō. Descended from Japanese nobility in her own ...

Japan’s Princess Akiko was ... the few female members of the Japanese Imperial Family. There are just 16 members of the royal family in total; when a woman marries, she loses her royal title.