Princess Mako, the 29-year-old daughter of Japan’s Emperor, will marry the commoner. The newlyweds decided to start their new life in New York by the end of the year, Nikkei reports.
Princess Mako will file the papers to register the marriage with her long-time boyfriend Kei Komuro in Japan. After withdrawing herself from the imperial register, the 29-year-old woman will move to the United States, where Komuro currently resides.
The ceremony will take place without the pomp and entourage that accompany an imperial family wedding. Due to continuing opposition to their relationship from the public and concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, no traditional imperial family ceremonies and rituals will be held in connection with the marriage.
Mako has broken the centuries-long traditions. When the female leaves the imperial family, the Nosai-no-Gi ceremony takes place. It represents betrothal. There are a few other traditions like thanking the parents but Mako preferred to ignore it. Leaving the imperial family without such rituals is unprecedented in the post-war imperial family tradition.
Komuro has lived in New York since 2018. He took the New York State Bar exam in July and is awaiting the result, which will be announced by December. He is expected to work at a law firm in the state. Envisioning that the path is clear for them to have a financially stable life, Mako and Komuro have decided to tie the knot.
The former Princess Mako is expected to receive $1.38 million
The relationship has become so controversial that even some in the couple’s inner circle recommended they break off their de facto engagement.
Under the Imperial House Economy Law, female imperial family members are also guaranteed to receive a lump-sum payment upon marriage, which is funded by taxpayers’ money. It should cover Mako’s living expenses “in order to preserve the dignity of a person who was once a member of the imperial family.” Under a law, Mako is expected to receive 152.5 million yen ($1.38 mln) in one payment.
But Emperor’s daughter is considering declining the money because of the public antipathy toward the couple, which is mainly based on the alleged financial troubles of Komuro’s mother and the couple’s handling of the matter.
Despite this, Mako and Komuro have insisted they would marry anyway, releasing a joint statement in November 2020, in which they called each other “irreplaceable.”
