TOKYO, October 1 – Japanese Princess Mako will marry her fiancé, a former college classmate, on October 26, authorities said Friday (October 1).
This, despite years of intense scrutiny and criticism that cast her engagement in an unflattering light.
The 29-year-old niece of Emperor Naruhito has been engaged to Kei Komuro, 29, since 2017, and the two initially captivated the public with their smiles at each other in a news conference to announce the event.
But tabloid reports soon surfaced following a financial dispute between Komuro’s mother and her former fiance hence a postponement of the marriage in 2018. In August that year Komuro left to attend law school in the United States, and did not return until Monday (September 27).
Mako will leave the royal family upon her marriage, as is customary. Under the Japanese law, female imperial family members forfeit their status upon marriage to a “commoner” although male members do not.
The couple are expected to move to the US, where Komuro works as a lawyer, after their marriage.
Their decision to live in the US, has earned them the nickname “Harry and Meghan of Japan”.
