Princess Mako’s fiance Komuro described as friendly, inspiring

Kei Komuro, the fiance of Princess Mako, is a friendly and inspiring person, his friends and acquaintances say.

Komuro, 25, attended Canadian International School Tokyo, which has many children who have returned from abroad and foreign nationals on its roll, in junior high and high school. He was always inspiring his classmates. He began learning the violin when he was 3 years old, and performed in a school concert when he was older.

The school’s office manager, Noriko Akahane, 67, stood behind him as Princess Mako’s future husband.

“I think he certainly can protect Princess Mako. The school can certify that he has good personality,” Akahane said.

Komuro lost his father, who had worked at the Yokohama Municipal Government, when he was 10 years old, and he has remained close to his mother, Kayo. He was quoted as telling his friends, “I’ll protect my mother.”

His classmates at International Christian University (ICU) describe him as a “fine and cheerful” person and agree that “he can make friends with anybody.”

Komuro played a key role in promoting tourism in the Kanagawa Prefecture city of Fujisawa for a year from 2010 as “Shonan Enoshima Sea Prince,” while he was attending ICU. He reportedly worked hard until late night with other “sea princes and queens” to prepare for tourism promotion events.

Genki Kashiwagi, 26, a company employee from Hyogo Prefecture who served as sea prince with Komuro, described him as “gentle,” and predicted that he will get along well with Princess Mako.

While studying at the University of California, Los Angeles, Komuro participated in an internship program at a local marketing company. He joined a bank after graduating from ICU but he later began looking for a new job so that he could attend a graduate school at night and study law.

He consulted with Juria Tachikawa, a lawyer in Los Angeles whom he got to know while studying there, and the lawyer introduced to him Okuno & Partners, the legal firm where he now works.

Lawyer Koji Fujita, deputy head of the law firm, praised Komuro’s attitude toward his job.

“He is serious and willing to perform work we ask him to do. I think he can give an outstanding performance not only in Japan but overseas,” Fujita said. “I’d like him to work hard while cherishing his relations with other people and maintaining a global outlook.”