After a four-year relationship, Japanese Princess Mako married Kay Komura, a 30-year-old law graduate living in New York. This wedding has been the subject of numerous discussions and debates.

Her three-year relationship was marked by scandals and speculation in the media, all because of the events that surrounded her fiancé. Some Japanese believe that an ordinary citizen, who was raised by a single mother, is not worthy to marry a princess, reports CNN.

Princess Mako, who turned 30 on Saturday, is the granddaughter of Emperor Naruhito and grew up in the royal house in the 1990s. She quickly won over the public.

"Her manners are impeccable. "People saw her as a perfect member of the royal family," said Japanese journalists who cover the life and work of the Japanese royal family.

The princess studied art and cultural heritage at Tokyo International Christian University. There she met Komura, a man who was born just three weeks before her in October 1991 in a family with a much more modest financial situation, reports CNN.

He was raised by a single mother because he lost his father, grandparents as a child, local media reported. After graduating in 2014, he worked in a law office in Tokyo, before receiving a scholarship to study law at Fordham Law School in New York. The princess then began her studies in the United Kingdom.

The couple met again in 2017 and announced their engagement to the enthusiastic Japanese public. The princess said that "his smile is like the sun" and that in time she learned "that he is an honest, strong and hard worker with a big heart".

The Japanese media called him "Prince of the Sea", after a character who played in a beach tourism campaign for the city of Fujisawa, south of Tokyo. Everything seemed to be going well, and then everything went in another direction.

The couple had planned to get married in 2018, but their wedding was postponed. The royal family said the delay was due to a "lack of preparation", but others believed it was due to reports that Comoros's mother had not repaid the $ 36.000 debt she had borrowed from her ex-fiancé.

Comuro disputed the allegations, saying his mother had received the money but that he would pay everything to resolve the dispute. Komuro's mother allegedly used part of the money received from the believer to educate her son. The media did not stop criticizing his family for that.

But then the tabloids began to cut into every part of his private life, with some calling him a "sponsor." Comuro released a 28-page document in April in a bid to resolve the dispute and correct as much information as possible.

"Although people in the United States would think that his mother's actions had nothing to do with Komuro, in Japan they considered it problematic, so from a handsome and kind young man in the Japanese public, Comuro was transformed into a so-called 'calculated opportunist,'" Tonomura said.

Some say disapproval of Komuro's upbringing speaks volumes about gender inequality in Japan, which has a larger gender gap than any other G7 country.

The "contempt" of some of the public towards him became apparent last month when he arrived in Japan. His hair was longer than before and tied in a ponytail. Many wondered why he let his hair down and pointed out that this hairstyle is not acceptable for a man who is preparing to marry a princess.

Some Japanese people support him on social media for his appearance, while others point out that he is unsuitable as a groom for the royal bride. The ponytail may not be as famous in the West, but in Japan one is expected to reflect one's status through one's actions and words.

People saw the ponytail as a sign that Kumoro was not behaving in accordance with social expectations, according to the Japanese public. Komuro cut off his turnip before the wedding. According to world media, he returned to Japan as a law graduate and worked in a law office in New York.

The marriage will be mostly done by filling in the documentation, and then a press conference will be held, news agencies report.

Although marriage between an ordinary citizen and a member of the royal family is not uncommon in Japan, the lack of pomp for a royal wedding is atypical and perhaps the first in the long Japanese imperial tradition.

Mako even refused the usual payment of 1,3 million dollars, which is given to women who leave the family.

After the marriage, Mako - who has never had a last name or passport - will move to New York.