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Japan’s Princess Mako finally marries university sweetheart Kei Komuro, leaves world’s oldest monarchy

  • The low-key affair involved no elaborate ceremony, reception banquet or other rituals, with the nuptials only being officiated on paper
  • Marrying a commoner means Mako must now leave the imperial family and she has turned down a conventional US$1.35 million gift for doing so

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Japan’s Princess Mako and her now husband Kei Komuro pictured in 2017. Photo: AFP
SCMP’s Asia deskandJulian Ryall
Japan’s Princess Mako finally married her university sweetheart Kei Komuro on Tuesday – but it was not a lavish affair, with the couple forgoing traditional rites after years of controversy.
Since announcing their engagement in 2017, the pair have faced tabloid scandals over reports that Komuro’s family had run into financial difficulties. But on Tuesday morning “the marriage papers were filed and accepted” said an official from the Imperial Household Agency.

Women in Japan’s imperial family cannot ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, and lose their title when they marry a commoner. That includes 30-year-old Mako, the niece of Emperor Naruhito. Her spouse is also 30 and works for a US law firm.

Japan’s Princess Mako hugs her sister Princess Kako before leaving the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo on Tuesday as their parents, Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, look on. Photo: AP
Japan’s Princess Mako hugs her sister Princess Kako before leaving the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo on Tuesday as their parents, Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, look on. Photo: AP

For the first time in Japan’s post-war history, the marriage was registered without traditional rites, and Mako turned down a large payment usually offered to royal women who marry commoners and become ordinary citizens, in line with Japanese law.

“It’s a radical departure from what is expected from women of the imperial family,” said Shihoko Goto, deputy director for geoeconomics at the Wilson Centre, a Washington-based think tank, and an Asian affairs specialist. “She is prepared to make financial sacrifices and uproot herself from the comfort, safety, and privileges of her life to pursue her own path.”

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