Imperial Family

Komuro channels Darth Vader as he brings ex-princess to Big Apple

Pool photo / The Yomiuri Shimbun
Mako Komuro and her husband, Kei, prepare to get into a car upon arrival in New York on Sunday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun / The Japan News

November 15, 2021

NEW YORK — Mako Komuro, eldest daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, and her husband, Kei Komuro, arrived in New York early Sunday.

After getting married in October, they are starting their new life in the Big Apple, where Kei Komuro lives and works for a law firm.

The couple left an apartment in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, at around 8:10 a.m. Sunday, heading by van to Haneda Airport, where about 100 reporters were waiting. The couple bowed to the press before entering the boarding gate without making any comments.

During the walk to the gate, Kei Komuro was spotted wearing a knit cardigan zipped slightly down just enough to show a printed image of Darth Vader from the Star Wars series on his T-shirt. His outfit went viral on social media, drawing such comments as “Awesome” and “Why Darth Vader?”

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Kei Komuro wears a T-shirt with Darth Vader printed on it as he walks through Haneda Airport in Tokyo with his wife, Mako, heading for New York on Sunday.

The couple arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York at around 9 a.m. Sunday local time. Security personnel escorted the couple on a different route from other passengers in the terminal.

Mako Komuro bowed to journalists asking questions before getting into a car while appearing to smile at airport staff.

Kei Komuro plans to retake the New York State bar exam in February.