Princess Mako and Kei Komuro were married in a quiet civil ceremony this week in Japan. They waited ten years to marry, mostly because the Japanese royal family refused to grant permission to the marriage, and because the Japanese press went after both of them like their names were Meghan and Harry. Kei and Mako are headed to New York, where they will likely rent a one-bedroom apartment. Kei already has a job at a good law firm (although he’s still waiting to see if he passed the bar) and reportedly Mako will look for a job as well. She refused her dowry of over a million dollars and now she’s free and clear of her family. People Magazine finally translated Kei and Mako’s statements at their post-wedding media conference and some of the answers are heartbreaking.
Mako on their new life: “We will be starting a new life. I am sure we will encounter difficulties along the way. But just as we have until now, I want to continue joining forces [with Kei], and walking together side by side. Our loyalty to each other is thanks to our devotion to one another and thanks to the presence of all those who supported us. There are many who understand the difficulty of living while protecting our hearts. I hope that we can create a society where we can all live and support each other’s feelings.”
Kei wants to start a family: “I would like to make a warm family life with Mako. At the same time, I would like to do everything in my power to support her. During happy times and even those that are not, I would like to stand by her, and be an invaluable part of her existence.”
Mako on whether or not they will give interviews in America, like the Sussexes: “It is sad for me to receive this sort of question, which may give the impression that false information is a fact. We have never considered our engagement to be a ‘scandal,’ though unfortunately there have been some disputes. We have been horrified, scared and saddened by the fact that false information has been taken as fact and that unfounded stories have spread. As for the comparison, I don’t have any particular thoughts. I would like to refrain from answering any questions about my future personal life. I am not considering giving any interviews at the moment. What I would like is just to lead a peaceful life in my new environment.”
Mako on her PTSD: “Regarding the criticism online and in the media, I felt a strong fear that an unwarranted story and mistaken information for some reason was being presented as the truth. I decided to publicly announce my PTSD due to its relationship to the wedding. My condition is currently not entirely good by any means. But thanks to the help of those around me, I have somehow managed to make it to today. Kei has also supported me and encouraged me.”
Kei just seems like a good guy. And Mako seems burned out by all the negativity and hate she’s received. Once again, it just feels short-sighted on the part of the media and the royal family, which is the same thing that happened with Harry and Meghan: better inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in. The priority should have been to keep Mako and Kei in Japan and have them be productive members of Japanese society. But short-sighted a–holes do the darndest things so here we are. Mako and Kei found their freedom and they get to live their lives on their own terms.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Basically a Japanese Princess loses her status the moment she marries anyone, right? Do they expect princesses not to marry at all? Or she has to lose her princess title by marrying the “right” person?
Kudos to her for not taking the bait regarding the interview question. I hope they enjoy their lives in New York. The Japanese royal family sounds even more toxic than the British RF
Except her sister has been openly supportive of her at least.
There is a huge difference between the UK and Japanese situation here. Number one, Her sister is uber supportive, openly and unashamedly. Her family is not constantly leaking to the press and briefing against them to cover up their own sins. Her family is not using her as a whipping post. Her siblings are not incandescent with rage or jealous of her spouse and their joint bid for freedom. They will not also leak their location to the press putting their lives in danger. They will also not constantly lie to the press about giving them money when in reality they cut them off years ago.
I don’t actually agree that either couple should have stayed in countries where the establishment, the media, and a significant chunk of the people were actively and overtly hostile to them. Neither could have had anything approaching a reasonable quality of life in societies that feel a sense of ownership and right to comment on every little thing they said or did. Much better to get some distance and go somewhere else where they can walk down the street without being recognised and without needing huge troops of security guards. Probably this will be easier for Mako and Kei than Harry and Meghan due to the West’s lack of familiarity with the Japanese royal family, and I wish them well. It’s also interesting to me, as a Brit, to see another country’s royal family making exactly the same mistakes due to utter intransigence and unwillingness to accept that it’s the 21st century and so much of the trappings of monarchy are completely out of date and actively harmful to the survival of the institution.
I give them a lot of credit for guts. It’s hard enough to move to a totally different country when you are a civilian. It’s even tougher when you’ve been raised in a royal hothouse and have to learn about the civilian world and a different culture fast.
Very impressed by the way they are doing this. Staying out of the limelight, getting real jobs, not asking for money from her family , no interviews and not profiteering from her status. They are really doing it the hard way , standing on their own feet and taking no short cuts. Really impressed.
Who’s profiteering from their status? LOL
“real jobs”, “no interviews”, lol
They tell on themselves don’t they?
Who is taking short-cuts? Pray tell.
“Not profiteering from their status” lol ok sure. I guess you could say that if you ACTUALLY believe that Mako being a former princess will have ZERO bearing on her job prospects lol
The fact of the matter is that whether it’s H&M or Princess Mako & her husband, simply being former royals, or married to one, is ALWAYS going to make them more attractive to potential employers/business partners/investors etc etc . There is quite simply, NOTHING that they can do about that. What they CAN do, and what H&M have been doing, is using people’s desire to work with them to effect positive change.
Whatever job she gets, people who dislike her will say that she is profiting from her status. Besides, this is, technically, an interview where she has the chance to clarify their side of the story. She has said that all the fabrications in the media and online are false and that she doesn’t plan to give further interviews at the moment. We don’t know what her thoughts would be one year down the line, but it’s up to her to decide what’s right for her.
Given MrsBump’s posting history here, I really don’t think she’s making the comparison to H&M that some think, although at a quick glance it may seem like it. I just think she means that MAKO could profit from her status, she could use her connections, she could have taken the million and used that as a nest egg, she could give interviews in exchange for cash, etc. she has not done those things – she’s going to work and by all accounts live a quiet NYC life. She’s not going to be a princess in exile going to all the movie premieres etc.
But that’s not Meghan either which is why I don’t think MrsB is making that comparison.
Eh, I’ve seen her be quite critical of H&M in the past (especially in comparison to W&K), so I think her post is exactly what it looks like tbh. But to be fair, that was a long time ago and I haven’t seen her posting in a while so *maybe* she’s changed. Doubt it, judging by the pettiness of her post.
Wow thank you Becks!
Im really shocked at the vitriol in the comments and how people automatically jump to H&M for every little thing.
I really am incredibly impressed by this young couple, how many would have gone down that path? And why does everything have to be about H&M?
Her family or Japan is paying for their security in NYC so they are getting help. Good luck to the newlyweds with their new step
If they made it ten years waiting to marry, let’s hope that passion carries them into a loving, lifelong partnership. They’ll probably really need each other those first couple years navigating the rockiness of a new marriage alongside culture shock. But who knows? The kind of people who seek individual happiness so persistently like that in the face of familial discontent may find themselves the kind thrive in American culture.
A number of women who marry into the Japanese royal families have had serious mental health issues. The freedom of being away and having their own agency and autonomy may actually make their marriage stronger.
Maybe Mako can head the East Coast branch of Archewell. The British and Japanese tabloids would go nuts.
In all seriousness, I hope she and Kei can start a new life in NYC far away from the Japanese media and have kids, get a dog, visit US national parks, or whatever it is they want to do. I always knew the “scandal” involving Kei’s mom’s ex-fiance (?) was a private financial matter that got blown out of proportion that then became this whole thing with the IHA forcing Mako to delay her engagement (and probably hoping she’d renounce marrying Kei). I’m so happy the two of them are out of that toxic environment.
LOL! Wouldn’t that be such a breeze? One princess heading the east coast Archwell and the other heading the Miami one. The tabloids will have such a melt down.
Yeah, I don’t see any upside for them with doing an interview. Right now, 99.9% of the American population wouldn’t recognize her, so the anonymity allows them to live a quiet and peaceful life in NYC. It would also stir up a ruckus in Japan. Statistics say the vast majority of the Japanese population don’t mind the marriage, just some old fogies, so I think eventually it’ll blow over and they can return to Japan for holidays etc mostly unbothered.
Unfortunately, Meghan & Harry never had that option because of their global fame, so they have to stay in the public eye to be able to pay for their security and privacy.
Harry and Meghan plan to stay in the public eye, so the interview made sense. If Mako and Kei want to fade into obscurity, no interview necessary. I wish them nothing but the best in their life of relative normalcy.
They’ve waited long enough! I was dying for a translation lol 💚
Aren’t they telling everyone no interview while giving an interview? Something is lost in translation here.
Anyway good luck to them! they deserve the happy quiet life they want. And if they decide to venture out into a public sphere for charity work, I support that and their continued privacy while doing so.
This was the press conference after their civil ceremony and Mako leaving the palace and country. All of this was done on their wedding day.
Is there any interest in the Japanese Royal Family? I doubt most Americans realize there are Royals in Japan. I don’t know about the rest of the world. It’s highly unlikely that they are getting a lot of interview and financial offers.
I love that one photo where they’re looking at one another. Very restrained, but their faces seem to say, “That’s my boo. ♥”