Major Japanese television stations broadcast the moments of Mako and her husband’s boarding of the plane that took off from Haneda Airport in Tokyo, according to the Associated Press.
Kei Komuro, a Fordham University Law graduate, works in a New York law firm.
Although Japan looks modern in many ways, the values regarding family relations and the status of women are still somewhat antiquated, rooted in feudal practices.
Tradition in the Japanese imperial family dictates that females in the family forfeit the title of princess and leave her, if they wish to marry a commoner.
Mako and Kei Komuro, both 30, married in late October.
The marriage, which caused a split in Japanese public opinion, was delayed three years due to a financial dispute involving the mother-in-law.
Other princesses married commoners and left the palace.
But Mako is the first to spark such public outrage, including a frantic reaction on social media and in local tabloids.
Speculation ranged from whether the couple would be able to live in Manhattan, given how much money Kei Komuro would earn and whether the former princess would financially support her husband.
Mako is the niece of Emperor Naruhito, who also married a commoner, Empress Masako.
Masako often struggled mentally in the secluded and organized life of the imperial family.
The imperial family has no political power in Japan but serves as a symbol of the nation, attending ceremonial events and visiting disaster areas, and remains relatively popular.
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