Mako, now known as Mako Komuro, was diagnosed with PTSD earlier this year.
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TOKYO – Japanese princess Mako, the emperor’s niece, married her college sweetheart on Tuesday, renouncing her royal title and saying she was determined to build a happy life with her “irreplaceable” husband after a tumultuous engagement.
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Speaking at a press conference with new husband and commoner Kei Komuro, marked by unusual frankness for Japan’s royal family, Mako said her marriage to Komuro had been inevitable despite widespread opposition.
Mako, now known as Mako Komuro, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) earlier this year after an engagement plagued by a money scandal, intense media scrutiny and a three-year separation from her fiancé.
“Kei is irreplaceable for me. For us, marriage is a necessary option to live while cherishing our hearts, “Mako said at a press conference.
She said the “incorrect” reports about her new husband had caused her “a lot of fear, stress and sadness”.
“The stream of arbitrary criticism of Kei’s actions, as well as one-sided speculations that ignored my feelings, made the falsehoods somehow seem like reality and turned into an unprovoked story that spread,” he added.
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The two, 30, were married in the morning after an official from the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), which runs the life of the family, submitted the documentation to a local office that registered their marriage.
Royal marriages usually involve a series of formal ceremonies and a celebration, but the two gave up all rituals and even rejected the $ 1.3 million usually given to women who leave the family.
During the press conference, Komuro vowed to protect and support Mako.
“I love Mako. I want to spend the only life I have with the one I love. “
“YOUR FEELINGS NEVER DIVIDED”
The two announced their engagement in 2017 at a press conference, where the smiles they exchanged won the hearts of the nation. But things soon turned ugly when the tabloids reported a money scandal involving Komuro’s mother, prompting the press to turn against her.
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The marriage was postponed and he left Japan to study law in New York in 2018, keeping in touch with Mako via the internet. They finally got together this month.
Television footage showed Mako, in a pastel-colored dress and pearls, saying goodbye to her parents and 26-year-old sister, Kako, in their driveway. Although they all wore masks in accordance with Japan’s coronavirus protocol, their mother could be seen blinking rapidly, as if she wanted to hold back tears.
Mako bowed formally to her parents, as her sister grabbed her by the shoulders and the two shared a long hug.
Komuro, dressed in an impeccable dark suit and tie, bowed briefly to the camera crews gathered outside his home as he left in the morning, saying nothing. Her casual demeanor upon returning to Japan in September, including a ponytail that was cut off before marriage, had sparked a tabloid frenzy.
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The two will live in New York after Mako applies for his first passport.
In a statement, Mako’s parents acknowledged the opposition the couple had faced.
“But his feelings never wavered even once,” they said.
FINANCIAL DISPUTE
Just a few months after the two announced their engagement, the tabloids reported a financial dispute between Komuro’s mother and her ex-fiancé, with the man claiming that the mother and son had failed to pay a debt of approximately $ 35,000.
The scandal spread to the mainstream media after the IHA failed to provide a clear explanation. Komuro said during the press conference that he had offered a deal and was working towards a solution, after issuing a 24-page statement on the matter earlier this year.
About a hundred people gathered in a Tokyo park to protest the marriage. Public opinion polls show that the Japanese are divided.
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“There are several alleged problems involving Kei Komuro and his mother,” said 44-year-old protester Kei Kubota. “However, they forced this marriage without giving us any explanation.”
Analysts say the problem is that the imperial family is so idealized that people think that not the slightest hint of problems related to money or politics should affect them.
In a statement issued after the press conference, Mako said she was distressed by one of the questions that associated her marriage with the word “scandal.”
“What I would like is just to lead a peaceful life in my new environment,” he said.
Reference-torontosun.com