Japan’s Princess Mako marries Kei Komuro, exits imperial family
Tokyo, Oct 26 (EFE).- Princess Mako of Japan on Tuesday married commoner and former university classmate Kei Komuro after years of delays, marking her departure from the imperial family.
A spokesman for the Imperial Household Agency confirmed to Efe that the marriage registry documents were delivered to the town hall by an agency official at around 10 am (01:00 GMT).
Mako, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, left her family’s imperial residence in Tokyo shortly after 10 am.
She was seen off by her parents, Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, and her sister Princess Kako.
The couple decided to marry without a traditional formal ceremony.
By marrying a commoner, and as stipulated by the law that governs the Imperial Household, Mako now leaves the family and takes the name Mako Komuro.
She has also foregone a traditional lump-sum payment of up to 150 million yen ($1.3 million) given to a family member upon their exit from the household.
Later, the newlyweds, both 30, will hold a press conference where they will also respond in writing to questions from journalists that were submitted in advance.
The wedding has again highlighted the constraints that affect women in the Japanese Imperial family, in which only men have inheritance rights to the Chrysanthemum Throne and who can marry commoners without losing their status.
The announcement of Mako and Komuro’s engagement in 2018 caused a stir in Japan due to an alleged financial dispute between Komuro’s mother and her former fiancé.
The controversy ended up delaying Mako and Komuro’s marriage for years.
The intense media scrutiny and criticism from certain social sectors against Mako and her now-husband have also caused the princess to suffer from a form of post-traumatic stress syndrome, as announced by the Imperial Agency at the beginning of the month.
The couple is reportedly set to move to New York where Komuro works in a law firm. EFE
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