After years of debate, Princess Mako marries a commoner.
new 24 hour NEWS – 9 hours ago – 21:39 | All, Japan
Princess Mako of Japan married her commoner fiancé Kei Komuro on Tuesday, according to the Imperial Household Agency, after years of controversy over a financial issue involving his mother, which caused the pair to forego customary royal wedding procedures.
Princess Mako, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, gave up her royal title and married her university boyfriend, Mako Komuro, under a family registration on Tuesday morning, four years after their romance was made public.
Instead of the traditional press conference, the newlyweds, both 30, came together in front of the press in the afternoon for the first time in roughly four years. They merely offered introductory comments and issued written responses to five chosen questions submitted by the media.
The decision was made because the princess, who has been suffering from a mental health problem as a result of a series of media reports about the financial dispute, “feels a strong sense of anxiety” when she thinks about having to answer questions verbally, according to the agency, which made the announcement late Monday night.
In her opening comments to the press, the princess stated Komuro is a “irreplaceable” person and that their marriage was “a necessary decision.”
The pair paid for their own hotel room for the press event, despite criticism on social media that they were squandering taxpayers’ money.
Many people are sceptical of Komuro’s explanations about his mother’s money dispute with her former fiance, and are concerned about negative reports about the Komuro family, believing they are unfit to be royal relatives, including Princess Hisahito’s younger brother, Prince Hisahito, who is second in line to the throne.
In response to one of the queries regarding future concerns, the princess stated in a statement, “If I had to name the largest fear, it would be continuing libel” against the couple and their families.
Princess Mako remained tight-lipped about her new life in New York with Komuro, where she is anticipated to settle. “All I want is to live a quiet life in my new surroundings,” she stated in a statement. Komuro is a lawyer who works in the city.
She lost her royal position since the Imperial House Law states that if a female imperial member marries a commoner, she must give up her title. On Wednesday, the agency will mark her departure in the imperial lineage registry.
On October 26, 2021, Japanese Princess Mako departs from her family’s home at Tokyo’s Akasaka Estate. On the same day, the Imperial Household Agency filed legal documents on their behalf to register her marriage to her commoner partner Kei Komuro. In the back are her parents, Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, as well as her younger sister, Princess Kako. (Kyodo) (Kyodo) (Kyodo) (Kyodo) (Kyodo)
Princess Mako’s parents, Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, issued a statement following the couple’s wedding, saying that their eldest daughter’s marriage was “unprecedented for the imperial family,” adding that they hope she will cherish the feelings she has developed over time and create a happy family.
The princess and Komuro arrived at a Tokyo condominium following the press briefing, having departed her family’s royal palace early Tuesday morning. They’ll be staying there while preparing for a new life in New York.
Princess Mako bowed numerous times to her parents and younger sister Princess Kako as she left the mansion in Tokyo at 10 a.m., wearing a light green dress and clutching a bouquet of flowers.
Princess Mako embraced her sisters before getting into a vehicle and driving to a Tokyo hotel to face the press with her husband, as her family waved till she was gone. A total of ten agency personnel were there to see her go.
Prince Hisahito was not at home at the time since he was attending junior high school.
Because members of the Japanese royal family do not have passports, the princess must apply for one as a regular citizen. At the earliest, she is likely to go to the United States next month.
A variety of customary traditions related with imperial members’ marriages were not conducted because to the controversy surrounding the marriage due to the still-unresolved money issue between Komuro’s mother and her previous fiancé.
Princess Mako’s request to deny a lump-sum payment of up to 150 million yen ($1.3 million) taken from the country’s tax coffers was granted by the agency, which claimed it had accepted Princess Mako’s request.
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According to the outlet, the extraordinary choices occurred as Crown Prince Fumihito insists that many Japanese people are still sceptical of the marriage and that traditional rites should not have been undertaken.
Komuro has so far failed to persuade a vociferous segment of the Japanese populace that his family would settle the issue over 4 million yen, which includes money spent on his schooling, that the couple’s marriage has come under heavy public scrutiny.
Komuro and his mother feel the money they got was a gift, according to a 28-page statement released in April, but recommended making a settlement payment to the former fiancée soon thereafter.
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that he would do “all necessary” to rectify the situation and that he hopes the former fiancée will get the settlement money. Komuro’s mother, who suffers from mental illness, is unable to accept the man’s request for a meeting, according to Komuro.
The couple and their families have been the subject of frequent social media criticism as a result of tabloid periodicals and TV discussion programmes obsessing over the matter.
Princess Mako was diagnosed with complicated post-traumatic stress disorder earlier this month, according to the agency, as a result of what she said as psychological torture she and her family suffered.
With her parents Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko looking on, Japanese Princess Mako (R) is embraced by her younger sister Princess Kako as she departs her family’s mansion at the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo on Oct. 26, 2021. On the same day, the Imperial Household Agency filed formal procedures to register Princess Mako’s marriage to her commoner partner Kei Komuro. (Kyodo)
Komuro moved to New York in August 2018 to study law at Fordham University’s law school, and the pair met in person for the first time last week. In May of this year, he received his Juris Doctor degree.
Komuro’s return to Japan in late September sparked a media frenzy, with his ponytail hairstyle generating headlines. He chopped his ponytail off before visiting Princess Mako’s parents at the Akasaka Estate last week, after further public criticism.
Komuro and the princess met as International Christian University students in Tokyo in 2012 and were informally engaged in September 2017.
Their wedding was originally slated on Nov. 4, 2018, but the agency said in February of that year that ritual rituals would be postponed due to claims of a financial disagreement.
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