Former Japanese Princess Spotted Taking Public Bus In New York After Giving Up Royal Life

If you happened to board a crowded public bus in New York recently, you probably wouldn't have expected one of your fellow passengers to be a former Japanese princess.

Former Princess Mako, now known as Mako Komuro, has gone viral after photos and videos surfaced showing her taking an ordinary public bus with her husband, Kei Komuro, in New York City.

Dressed casually, they quietly stood among fellow commuters without attracting much attention.

Judging by the footage, nobody appeared to recognise them.

The sight might not seem unusual, except that Mako is the eldest daughter of Japan's Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko and gave up her royal status to marry Kei.

She also has two siblings —  younger sister, Princess Kako Ashino, 31, and Prince Hisahito Akishino, 19. Prince Hisahito is second-in-line to the Japanese throne behind his father.

According to multiple sightings over the years, Mako and Kei regularly take public transport, walk around their neighbourhood and do their own grocery shopping.

While they initially lived in Manhattan after moving to New York in 2021, the couple has reportedly since settled into a modest condominium in Connecticut. 

The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter in May 2025, though the little girl's name has never been made public.

For anyone who has forgotten, Mako's love story made headlines around the world in 2021 after choosing to marry Kei in a simple civil ceremony.

Under Japanese imperial law, female members of the Imperial Family lose their royal status if they marry someone who isn't of noble birth.

She also declined the customary government payment, reportedly worth between US$1.3mil and US$1.4mil (S$1.7mil to S$1.9mil), that female royals traditionally receive upon leaving the Imperial Family.

The decision was widely seen as an effort to avoid adding to the public controversy that had surrounded their relationship.