Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"The engagement and marriage of the crown prince marked an important shift in the evolution of the monarchy. To hear the words 'commoner' and 'love' joined to the imperial family was distinctively new and very popular. . . . In February 1959 a Japanese opinion poll showed 87 percent support for Akihito's choice of a commoner. . . . Crown Prince Akihito and Michiko were united on April 10, 1959, before a huge television audience estimated at fifteen million viewers; another half million lined the route of their marriage parade." [Hirohito, p. 661-2]