Japan’s Princess Mako has married her non-royal boyfriend Kei Komuro.

Japanese media reported that the Imperial Household Bureau submitted the necessary documents for the couple to register the marriage with the authorities on Tuesday officially.

The muted ceremony took place without any traditional celebrations after controversies over money in Mr Komuro’s family that has been the subject of extensive reportage in Japan.

With her marriage to Mr Komuro complete, Princess Mako officially leaves Japan’s imperial family.

Ms Mako, 30, was originally due to marry her college sweetheart in 2018, but the wedding was delayed due to widespread public criticism of the relationship.

Negative media attention caused Ms Mako to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), court officials announced shortly before their marriage.

Ms Mako has planned to leave Japan to start a new life in the United States, where Komuro works for a law firm.

Mr Komuro, 30, had gone to the U.S. to study law after the already announced wedding to Mako was cancelled in 2018.

He recently finished his studies there and passed the bar exam in New York.

Ms Mako is the niece of Japanese Emperor Naruhito. Under Japanese law, female members of the imperial family lose their royal status if they marry a commoner.

Following the scandal surrounding Mr Komuro’s status as a regular civilian, the media has been obsessed with financial problems in Mr Komuro’s family.

For years, there have been accusatory reports that Ms Mako’s future husband’s mother owed money to a man to whom she had once been engaged, although there is disagreement as to whether the money was a gift or a loan.

Many Japanese were outraged by the possibility that the dispute could be settled with Ms Mako’s tax-financed royal dowry of 150 million yen ($1.3 million).

The princess had since renounced her dowry. Mr Komuro had said that he could use his own money to pay off his mother’s debt.

(NAN)