He is seen as a threat to Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne, but Kei Komuro just wants to be a loving husband to his vulnerable bride.
The man whose Tuesday marriage to Princess Mako, the older sister of the country's likely future emperor, has led to nationwide protests, admits his new wife's mental health is 'not good,' but he wants to take care of her.
'I love Mako. We only get one life, and I want us to spend it with the one we love,' he told the country during a televised press conference in Tokyo.
Now the newlywed couple are heading to freewheeling New York to make a new life half the globe away from the stiff and formal royal palace where Mako grew up.
Princess Mako of Akishino, 30, the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and niece of reigning Emperor Naruhito, tied the knot with university sweetheart Kei Komuro, a commoner, in Tokyo on Tuesday after an eight-year engagement. They have been engaged since 2013 and were due to marry three years ago, but the wedding was delayed following a financial scandal involving his mother
Princess Mako (left) gave up her royal title in order to marry her commoner boyfriend (right) in a ceremony stripped of all pomp and glamour in Tokyo Tuesday
Polls show that up to 80 per cent of Japanese oppose the marriage that took place with none of the usual pomp and ceremony in a register office in Tokyo.
Komuro was raised by his widowed mother, Kayo. His father died when he was still in elementary school. His jobs in Japan included working in a bank and a French restaurant.
He met Mako in 2013 when they were both studying at the International Christian University outside Tokyo.
His proposal propelled him to the front page of Japanese newspapers - his only previous claim to fame had come from being named Prince of the Sea to lead a tourism campaign in the coastal town of Fujisawa.
The couple, both now 30, got 'unofficially engaged' in 2017, and planned to tie the knot in November 2018.
Initially the news was greeted with delight in Japan, but then a scandal grew up when it was discovered that Kayo had not repaid a 4million yen ($35,000) loan from a former fiancé, partly to pay her son's tuition.
Komuro pictured during his childhood. The 30-year-old left Japan for New York in 2017 to study law
Komuro was raised by his widowed mother, Kayo. His father died when he was still in elementary school. He is pictured above age nine with his late dad
His only previous claim to fame had come from being named Prince of the Sea to lead a tourism campaign in the coastal town of Fujisawa. He is pictured wearing the Prince of the Sea sash in 2010
That led critics to suggest Komuro was only marrying the princess for money or fame.
Komuro issued a 24-page explanation about the money - claiming it was a gift not a loan. That made him even more unpopular.
Eventually he said he would repay it, although it is not known whether the money has been returned.
In an online poll just five per cent of respondents in Japan said they would congratulate the couple or celebrate, with an overwhelming 91 per cent saying they wouldn't.
But despite the turmoil Kei and Mako's love endured. Last year the now ex-princess begged the Japanese public to support her decision.
'We are irreplaceable to each other - someone to rely on during both happy and unhappy times,' she said, announcing the wedding would go ahead.
'So a marriage is a necessary choice for us to live while cherishing and protecting our feelings.'
Komuro (pictured above in Yokohama in 2017) and Princess Mako, both now 30, got 'unofficially engaged' in 2017, four years after they met at university
Komuro is pictured at an amusement park with friends in 2009. Prior to moving to New York, he worked in a bank and at a French restaurant in Japan
News of the couple's engagement was initially greeted with delight in Japan, until it emerged that his mother was 4million yen ($35,000) in debt. Pictured: Komuro in 2012
On Tuesday, her words were nearly identical. 'For me, Kei is irreplaceable,' she said. 'Marriage was a necessary choice for us.'
In prepared remarks, she also said: 'I acknowledge that there are various opinions about our marriage. I feel very sorry for the people to whom we gave trouble.
'I'm grateful for the people who have been quietly concerned about us, or those who continued supporting us without being confused by baseless information.'
She said incorrect reporting on her new husband had caused her 'great fear, stress and sadness.'
'The flow of arbitrary criticism of Kei's actions, as well as one-sided speculation that ignored my feelings, made falsehoods somehow seem like reality and turn into an unprovoked story that spread,' she added.
Komuro has not lived in Japan for three years.
Soon after the marriage was postponed, he moved to New York, studying law at Fordham University in the Bronx and then landing a job clerking at Lowenstein Sandler in
