Husband of Japan’s ex-princess Mako registered as lawyer in New York

Kei Komuro’s registration according to the New York State Unified Court System came after he passed the state’s bar exam on his third attempt last July

Komuro married Japan’s former princess Mako in October 2021 amid public unease due to a financial dispute involving Komuro’s mother and her former fiancé

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Kei Komuro, the husband of Japanese former princess Mako Komuro, has been registered as a lawyer in the U.S. state of New York. Photo: AP/File

Published: 8:39pm, 1 Mar 2023Updated: 8:57pm, 1 Mar 2023

Kei Komuro, the husband of Japanese former princess Mako Komuro, has been registered as a lawyer in New York, a local judicial website showed.

Komuro’s registration, dated on Monday according to the New York State Unified Court System, came after he passed the US state’s bar examination on his third attempt last July.

His title in a legal firm in New York he has been working for has been changed from law clerk to associate.

Kei Komuro, the husband of Japanese former princess Mako Komuro, has been registered as a lawyer in the US. Photo: @vaninaswchindt/Twitter

Komuro, 31, graduated from New York City’s Fordham University School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree in May 2021. He and Emperor Naruhito’s 31-year-old niece have been living in the city since late 2021.

They tied the knot in October that year amid public unease over the marriage due to a financial dispute involving Komuro’s mother and her former fiancé.

The 1947 Imperial House Law, which limits heirs to the imperial throne to males with an emperor in the paternal line, requires female royals to give up their status when they marry commoners.

The couple did without any fancy wedding, registered their marriage and took off to New York in November 2021. They met while attending Tokyo’s International Christian University a decade ago.