Japan's former princess Mako's husband fails New York bar council exam: Reports

In a setback for the Japanese royal family, former Japanese princess Mako Komuro's husband has failed to qualify for his New York bar council exam, claims various media reports. This came days after Mako married Kei Komuro, and the former lost her royal status. The Japanese law bounds the female members of the royal family against getting married to 'commoners', denouncing the norm results in the loss of their imperial status. Mako's husband currently works at Lowenstein Sandler LLP, which is a law firm based in New Jersey. A few months ago, he appeared in the New York State Bar Association exam to become a licensed attorney in the US. However, the results of the bar council exam, which came days after his marriage, clearly state that Komuro has flunked the New York State Bar Association exam. The results were announced on October 29 on the official website of the New York State Board of Law Examiners. According to an NHK report, the examination conducting body revealed that Kumuro's name was not on the passing list among the successful candidates who qualified for the exam. This year a total of 9,227 candidates appeared in the bar council examination out of which only 5,791 successfully passed it.

As per various media reports, Komuro is not at all dissuaded from the result and he plans to reappear for the New York bar exam, which will be conducted in February 2022. Komuro married Mako, who is the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and niece of the reigning Emperor Naruhito. The former princess finally managed to marry Komuro, years after their wedding was delayed due to intense criticism and family disapproval. The 30-year-old refused to take the parting gift of 140 million yen (£890,000), which is entitled to her for leaving the royal family according to Japanese law.

Mako met her husband at Tokyo’s International Christian University, where the duo was engaged in a relationship for more than seven years before marriage. The news of the engagement was publicly announced in 2017 and the couple got married on Tuesday. The newlyweds are currently living in Tokyo, but plan to settle in the US once Mako completes preparations, including obtaining a visa.

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