Japan’s Princess Mako to Give Up One-Off Payment in Marriage: NHK

Princess Mako, the elder daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her fiancé Kei Komuro, a university friend, smile during a press conference to announce their engagement at Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo, Japan on Sept. 3, 2017. Shizuo Kambayashi/Pool via Reuters

TOKYO—Japan’s Princess Mako is set to forego a one-off million-dollar payment for giving up her royal status to wed a college classmate, media said on Saturday.

The 29-year-old daughter of Prince Akishino and her former college classmate, Kei Komuro, announced their engagement in 2017.

But the marriage was put off after reports of a financial dispute between Komuro’s mother and her former fiancé.

The government is set to agree that the princess forego the payment, worth up to 150 million yen ($1.35 million) for royals giving up their status to marry commoners, public broadcaster NHK and others said.

Japan's Princess Mako in Tokyo, Japan, on Oct. 22, 2019. Kim Hong-ji/Reuters

NHK said the wedding date may be announced in October.

Officials of the Imperial Household Agency were not immediately available to comment.

A Japanese broadcaster, anticipating an imminent wedding, recently tracked down Komuro in New York. He was shown sporting a ponytail, a detail that has caused an uproar among some Japanese users of Twitter.

Kei Komuro (C), the boyfriend of Japan's Princess Mako, arrives at Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture from the United States, on Sept. 27, 2021. Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images

Media have said the couple plan to live in the United States. Under Japan’s males-only royal succession law, female members of the royal family lose their status on marrying commoners.