Konoe and his wife are fourth cousins once removed as both are descendants of Nabeshima Narinao (1780–1839), the 9th lord of Saga Domain; as both are descendants of the Imperial House of Japan both paternal and maternal lines, they are also more distantly related multiple times over.

Konoe is also a second cousin once removed of the Emperor Akihito, as both of them are descended from Prince Kuni Asahiko of the Kuni-no-miya imperial branch house.

degree in Political Science, after which he attended the London School of Economics in 1964 where he majored in International Relations.

In 1994, he was lecturer on Micro study on International Relief Organizations at the Graduate School of Toyo Eiwa University, in Tokyo, Japan, and he is a lecturer, panelist, commentator, and speaker at various academic and other forums on topics including humanitarian aid, IHL, disasters, development, and bio-ethics.

He has been a member of the Standing Commission of the Red Cross Red Crescent (1995-2003) and its vice chairman (1999), member of the IFRC finance commission (1985-1993), as well as officer (1972-1975) and director (1981-1985) of the IFRC disaster preparedness bureau where he started in 1972.