After several months of disapproval and controversies, Japanese princess Mako married her college sweetheart and lawyer Kei Komuro on Tuesday. And with this, she also quits her royal status. The palace submitted the marriage documents of the couple on Monday and which has been lately similar to UK’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Mako and Kei have been increasing since 2017 but their relationship has always been in controversy and in a state of disapproval which was primarily due to a financial dispute involving Kei’s mother.
Mako has finally taken the surname of her husband and has become Mako Komuro and hence is no longer a member of the Japanese royal household. The amazing part is that this is the first time she will have a family name. Only the male members are allowed to use the family name in the Japanese imperial family. Whereas females are only given titles. Finally, the couple is married and is now scheduled to leave for New York. In New York, Kei will seek a future in the field of law.
Now according to the Japanese imperial household agency, later in the afternoon, the couple will make a statement to the press. There was a press conference scheduled earlier, which mentioned that Mako will only give answers in a written statement. Well, according to the information provided by the Palace, Mako has developed a kind of stress disorder due to all the controversies that were going on all around about her relationship. According to the reports of the Japanese media, it is said that Mako has also skipped many traditional ceremonies. But on Friday, she met her parents, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako.
It is known that Mako and Komuro met at International Christian University where they studied and pursued their education together. They both then became acquainted at a restaurant in the Shibuya district, located in Tokyo. The princess told the Telegraph, “first I was attracted by his bright smile”. Reportedly it is also known that Komuro proposed to the princess in December 2013. The couple was in a long-distance relationship as Mako pursued further studies and a master’s degree in the art museum and gallery studies at Leicester University, located in England. She completed her graduation in 2016 and the imperial household announced about the couple and their marriage plans back in November 2018 as they were too young to get married at that time.
Unfortunately, there was also a protest on Tuesday against the couple’s marriage. But also in a press conference on Tuesday, Ms. Mako apologized for any trouble brought to people by her marriage.
She said, “I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused and I am grateful for those… who have continued to support me,” she said, according to an NHK report. “For me, Kei is irreplaceable – marriage was a necessary choice for us.”
On the other hand, Mr. Komuro said that he loved Ms. Mako and he wanted to spend his life with her. He said, “I love Mako. We only get one life, and I want us to spend it with the one we love,” said Mr. Komuro according to an AFP report. “I feel very sad that Mako has been in a bad condition, mentally and physically, because of the false accusations.”
According to the reports of Kyodo, On Tuesday, around 10:00 local time (1:00 GMT), Princess Mako left her Tokyo residence to register her marriage, bowing several times to her parents, Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko. She then also hugged her younger sister before she left.
Well, this move by the princess and her boyfriend has drawn inevitable comparisons with British royals Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, and thus the newlyweds have earned the nickname “Japan’s Harry and Meghan”.
