Why Mako insists on living in the U.S. even after Kei Komuro’s rejection
“The calculations have gone completely awry.
So says a man who works as an imperial family journalist. Kei Komuro, who is married to Mako, the eldest daughter of the Akishino family, failed the bar exam in New York State.
After graduating from Fordham Law School in the U.S., Mr. Komuro took the New York State Bar Exam in July. On October 29, the results were announced on the website of the New York State Bar Examination Commission, but Komuro’s name was not on the list.
A total of 9,227 people took the exam, and 5,791 passed. The overall pass rate was 63%, and the pass rate for those who took the exam for the first time was 78%. The first-time pass rate for students who had studied law in the U.S., including at Fordham University Law School, where Kei graduated, was about 87%.
Ms. Komuro spent her college years as a “special student” and won first prize in a thesis competition held for students by the New York State Bar Association. As he had a strong image of being an honor student, his rejection was reported by the media with surprise.
“He probably didn’t think he would fail. Students always grade themselves after exams. When Mr. Komuro met with His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino on the 18th of last month, he was asked how he did on the exam, and he is said to have answered, ‘I’m fine. At the press conference with Mako, he smiled from time to time and seemed to be relaxed.
According to NHK, Mr. Komuro called Mr. Yoshihiko Okuno, the head of the law firm where he worked in Japan, and said, “The result of this examination is not acceptable.
“I’m very sorry. I am very sorry.
I am very sorry. He announced that he would try again for the bar exam in February next year. At that time, Mako also took over the phone and declared, “I will support my husband….
“Mako said she would support her husband. Mako turned down a lump sum of 150 million yen and is currently living off her own savings. The rent for her apartment in Shibuya Ward, where she will live until she comes to the U.S., is hundreds of thousands of yen, and if she goes to New York, she will have to make ends meet with prices that are on a different level from those in Japan. Some people are saying that if Mr. Komuro fails the exams next February, he should ‘rethink’ his life in the U.S. as well.
Mr. Komuro is already working for the New York-based law firm “L”, but his annual salary is 23 million yen if he passes the exam, and 6 million yen if he fails, a stark difference. In addition, Mr. Komuro’s visa is likely to expire next spring.
“If he fails the exam next February, there is a possibility that he will be fired from L. If that happens, it could affect the renewal of his visa,” said a reporter from a women’s magazine.
The dream of living in the U.S. may be coming to an end, but his wife, Mako, is showing her commitment. In the first place, Mako strongly supported Komuro’s decision to study at Fordham University. At their wedding press conference, Mako said
“I asked him to come ahead of schedule and establish a base overseas.
Mako said.
“Mako has long had a desire to live in the United States, the “land of the free. After her marriage to Mr. Komuro, she left the imperial family and passed the first barrier. The next step was to go abroad, so she “asked” Mr. Komuro to help her make the move to the United States.
It seems that Mako has already found a job. All she has to do now is get her passport and take off. The dream that Mako had in mind is now within reach.
Until now, it has been reported that Mako is dependent on Mr. Komuro and has become blindly devoted to him, but in fact the opposite is true. The former reporter mentioned above said
The former reporter said, “Even if Mr. Komuro were to fail the second test and return to Japan for a while, Mako would not follow him. Anyway, Mako wanted to leave the Imperial Family and be free. The only way to do that is to get married.
I’ll tell you what. So Mako was one step ahead of him…
Photo: Representative photo/Reuters/Afro