Name of former Princess Mako's husband not on New York bar exam pass list

The name of the newlywed husband of former Princess Mako was not on the pass list of the New York state bar examination released Friday by its organizer.

The results were announced days after Kei Komuro married the niece of Emperor Naruhito. The couple are planning to start a new life in New York as early as next month.

Komuro has already started working as a law clerk at a legal firm in New York after graduating from Fordham University's law school with a Juris Doctor degree in May. He took the bar examination in July.

Of the 9,227 people who took the test, 5,791 passed, according to the examination board. But the list released on its website only contains 5,785 names, leaving it unclear whether Komuro passed the exam.

An executive of the board told Kyodo News the names of successful applicants may not be announced due to "administrative reasons."

Komuro will not comment on the matter, a person close to the couple said.

The couple, both 30, registered their marriage and appeared in front of the press on Tuesday, four years since their relationship was made public.

Reading a prepared statement, the former princess said she had asked Komuro to move forward his plans to study abroad and "set up a base (for living) overseas."

With the couple and their families having become fodder for tabloids and TV talk shows, she also said she was "horrified, scared and saddened by the fact that false information has been taken as fact and that unfounded stories have spread."

She has been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder caused by what she described as psychological abuse the couple and their families received, the Imperial Household Agency recently said.

The eldest daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito forfeited her royal status as the Imperial House Law stipulates that a female member of the imperial family must abandon her title if she marries a commoner.

The couple, who are currently staying in a Tokyo apartment, visited a driver's license center on Thursday, apparently to file paperwork as part of preparations for leaving Japan.

The marriage had been delayed for nearly three years following a string of reports about a financial dispute involving Komuro's mother that led the couple to forgo traditional ceremonies associated with a royal marriage.