Kei Komuro and Mako Mark Five Years as Japan Trip Fails

Kei Komuro and Mako marked five years of marriage on Monday, 26 October 2026 — a milestone that arrives with a quiet disappointment behind it. This spring, the couple had been weighing their first trip back to Japan since their wedding, travelling as a family of three with their young child. The plan, worked out in secret, has now fallen through.

The story, reported by Daily Shincho to mark the anniversary, offers the fullest picture yet of the couple’s fifth year: a settled life in Connecticut, a growing legal career for Kei, and a family in Tokyo still waiting for a reunion that has not yet happened.

Kei Komuro’s five years in the United States

Kei Komuro, 35, and Mako, 35, married on 26 October 2021, and Mako left the imperial family on her wedding day. The couple moved to the United States, and last spring their first child was born — an event the family says changed their daily life completely.

They now live as a family of three in Connecticut, in the New York metropolitan area. Kei works as a lawyer at Lowenstein Sandler in Manhattan, where his reported salary is around 40 million yen. His work includes advising on reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which screens foreign investment in American companies, and since June 2025 he has also belonged to the firm’s Japan Practice team, which supports Japanese companies doing business in the United States.

Around March 2025, shortly before their first child was born, Kei bought a two-storey house in Connecticut for about $680,000, roughly 100 million yen. He later bought a Volvo SUV for around $30,000, about 4.7 million yen, and neighbours often see the family out driving together.

Mako, meanwhile, spends most of her time raising their child while also taking part in the Greenwich Art Council, a Connecticut non-profit that supports artistic activity. She attends art classes and helps prepare art events, going about twice a week, with Kei driving her there with their child.

Kei Komuro’s secret plan to return to Japan

This spring, for the first time since their marriage, the couple began considering a return to Japan. According to Weekly Shincho‘s 13 and 20 August 2026 issue, a source familiar with the couple’s movements said the plan had been quietly raised and that the timing and means were genuinely being studied.

The trigger was their child. The couple had started thinking about travelling home as a family of three once the baby was born, and Kei in particular was said to be keen. Once the child passed the age of one and seemed ready for a flight, the plan began to take concrete shape this spring.

The problem was being seen. Any move would inevitably attract attention, so people who have long supported the couple suggested a private jet, and some even offered to arrange one. The sums involved show how far the idea went: ANA Business Jet lists around 60 million yen for three days’ use of a 13-seat large aircraft on a round trip between Japan and New York, while JAL Business Aviation lists around $230,000, about 36 million yen, for a one-way flight on a 13-seater.

Why Kei Komuro’s Japan trip fell through

The plan was shared quietly with people connected to the Imperial Household Agency — and that is where it stalled. The agency’s side was reluctant, and the reason was practical: who would look after the three of them during their stay in Japan?

Although Mako is now a private citizen, she is also the elder sister of the next in line to the throne, and any trouble during the stay had to be avoided at all costs. Options were studied, including private individuals connected to the Akishino family, but no suitable person — and no workable means of looking after them — could be found. The secret return plan collapsed, at least for now.

A family in Tokyo still waiting

The disappointment is felt most keenly in Tokyo. Crown Prince Akishino, asked about Mako’s child at his 60th birthday press conference last November, said he was delighted when he first heard the news and added: “If there is a chance to come to Japan, I would love to meet them.”

Crown Princess Kiko has spoken of her daughter in her birthday written responses as well. She has built an arch of mokkoubara roses — Mako’s imperial emblem flower — in the palace garden, and has said she would like to walk the garden with Mako. In last year’s document she wrote that once her grandchild was old enough to travel far, she hoped they would visit Japan at a good time.

The family around them is changing too. The Imperial House Law was amended this year so that female royals can remain imperial after marriage, and attention is now on Princess Kako, 32, who has long looked up to her elder sister — her decision, observers say, will be shaped by how Mako’s married life is seen. Prince Hisahito, meanwhile, turned 20 in September and has begun carrying out solo duties and speaking in public for the first time as a future emperor.

What Kei Komuro’s fifth anniversary says about the years ahead

Five years on, the Komuros’ life in America looks settled: a house, a child, a steady career and a routine built around art classes and family drives. What is missing is the one thing money and planning could not arrange — a quiet, safe way home.

For investors watching Japan, the story is a reminder of how closely the imperial family’s milestones are followed at home, and how the succession question continues to shape public debate — the kind of long-running theme tracked across Meyka’s Japan stock screener (https://meyka.com/screener/JP/) and the most active Japanese stocks (https://meyka.com/market/JP/most-active/). The Japan earnings calendar (https://meyka.com/market/JP/earnings-calendar/) also shows how the country’s corporate season is unfolding this autumn.

For now, the reunion waits. The plan may be revived when the child is older and the arrangements are easier — but for this anniversary, at least, the family of three stays in Connecticut.

For more Law and Government coverage, read our earlier report on Kim Jong Un’s bridge crossing into China (https://meyka.com/blog/kim-jong-un-china-bridge-dandong-visit/).

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.