Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Emperor Naruhito’s niece Princess Mako married commoner Kei Komuro on Tuesday after a long and often controversial engagement that was initially announced in 2017.

The princess, now just Mako Komuro after renouncing her royal titles and privileges, may be a happily married woman at last, but some Japanese were less than happy that the marriage took place. 

The marriage suffered a long delay after it was revealed Komuro’s mother had a financial dispute with a man over a debt of 4 million yen ($40,000). The mother said the money was a gift while the man claimed it was a loan and should be repaid. 

The dispute caused the marriage of Mako and Komuro to be delayed by a couple of years, but even now some Japanese believe Komuro is a bad choice for the daughter of Crown Prince Akishino to wed. Conservative media were shocked when Komuro returned to Japan from his job with a law firm in New York sporting a ponytail and protests took place on Tuesday to condemn the groom and his mother.

At a demonstration in central Tokyo, protesters said that the debt was being paid from Imperial Household resources which are funded by taxpayers. Others accused Komuro of using his connection to the Imperial Family for his own personal advancement and gain.