Japan's ex-princess Mako and husband Kei Komuro to move to New York this weekend

In this 2017 September file photo, Japan's Princess Mako and her fiance Kei Komuro look at each other during a press conference at Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo. AP-Yonhap

Former princess Mako Komuro and her husband are planning to leave Japan for New York on Sunday, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The newlywed couple, both 30, are expected to depart from Haneda airport in Tokyo to start their new life in New York, where Kei Komuro works as a law clerk at a legal firm after graduating from Fordham University's law school with a Juris Doctor degree in May.

The Komuros have already secured a place to live in the US city, according to the source.

It was originally planned that Komuro would travel to the US first due to work commitments and the former princess, who left the imperial family upon marrying a commoner, would join him later after obtaining a passport.

But the husband's stay in Japan was prolonged after Mako's grandfather and Crown Princess Kiko's father, Tatsuhiko Kawashima, a professor emeritus at Gakushuin University, died last week and the couple attended his funeral on Saturday.

The eldest daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and her boyfriend married on October 26 after years of controversy over a financial dispute involving his mother that led the couple to forgo traditional ceremonies associated with a royal wedding.

The couple appeared together in front of the press later that day for the first time in about four years, with the bride saying she wants to lead a "peaceful life" in a new environment.

People take part in a march to protest against the marriage between Japan's Princess Mako and Kei Komuro in Tokyo, Oct. 26. AFP-Yonhap

With the niece of Emperor Naruhito having been diagnosed with a complex post-traumatic stress disorder following a media frenzy over the couple and the financial dispute, the two only gave opening remarks and distributed written answers to questions earlier submitted by the media at the press event.

The 1947 Imperial House Law, which limits heirs to a male who has an emperor on his father's side, requires female royals to give up their imperial status when they marry a commoner.

Komuro returned to Japan from the US in late September for the first time in about three years. Following the marriage, the couple has been living in a Tokyo condominium.

The husband took the New York state bar examination in July, but failed it. He is expected to retake the exam, possibly in February.

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