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Japan’s Princess Mako with her boyfriend Kei Komuro in Tokyo. File photo: Reuters
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Japan’s Princess Mako to decline US$1.35 million payment to marry commoner boyfriend Kei Komuro

  • The government is set to agree that the princess forego the payment for royals giving up their status to marry commoners amid criticism over her fiancé
  • The wedding date may be announced in October and the couple plan to live in the US
Japan
Reuters
Reuters
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Japan’s Princess Mako is set to forego a one-off million-dollar payment for giving up her royal status to wed a college classmate, media said on Saturday, clearing the way for a marriage delayed for years by controversy over her fiancé.

The 29-year-old granddaughter of then-Emperor Akihito and her former college classmate, Kei Komuro, announced their engagement in 2017.

But the marriage was put off after reports of a financial dispute between Komuro’s mother and her former fiancé.

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The government is set to agree that the princess forego the payment, worth up to 150 million yen (US$1.35 million) for royals giving up their status to marry commoners, amid public criticism over her fiancé, public broadcaster NHK and others said.

NHK said the wedding date may be announced in October. Mako also planned to renounce the rituals and ceremonies normally associated with weddings at the imperial court.

Officials of the Imperial Household Agency were not immediately available to comment.

Japan’s Princess Mako. Photo: EPA

A Japanese broadcaster, anticipating an imminent wedding, recently tracked down Komuro in New York. He was shown sporting a ponytail, a detail that has caused an uproar among some Japanese users of Twitter.

Komuro, 29, plans to return from the United States next week, according to sources, which will be the first time he is in Japan since leaving for New York in 2018 to study at Fordham University’s law school. He graduated from the school this year.

Media have said the couple plan to live in the United States. Under Japan’s males-only royal succession law, female members of the imperial family lose their status on marrying commoners.

Additional reporting by Kyodo, DPA

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