Monthly Archives: June 2003

Former WBC light-flyweight champion boxer Ioka Hiroki (34) and his wife Emi (31) finally had their wedding ceremony. They registered their marriage back in February. The ceremony cost a whopping ¥45 million. Ioka retired from boxing in 1998 and is now a TV personality. Emi is a “moto-suchi” (former airline stewardess) and singer but now works as the manager of Ioka Boxing Gym.

TV personality Kawamura Hikaru (23) gave a quick press conference on her return from a job in Bali. She admitted that the rumors of her relationship with sumo Ozeki (champion) Chiyotaikai (27) are true. The couple only met in April and say they’re taken aback by all the fuss. She is a rising star on TV and is said to be very ambitious. He is still trying to fulfill his potential by reaching sumo’s highest rank of Yokozuna (grand champion). He entered the sport after being scouted by the legendary Chiyonofuji, a meeting which is said to have saved him from a life as a juvenile delinquent.

• The wife of actor Kishitani Goro (38) has given birth to their second daughter.

SMAP member Katori Shingo topped a poll that asked people to name their idol home tutor. Not surprising, since he has recently appeared in a series of TV commercials in exactly that role. The No.2 and 3 slots were taken by two of the women who have dominated TV commercials for the last couple of years, Tokyo University grad Kikukawa Rei and Matsushima Nanako. They were followed by actor/director Kitano “Beat” Takeshi and actor Fujiki Naoto. Ranking third as the “person you would not like to be taught by” was Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro.

You can expect another “Beckham-sama” media frenzy soon. Idolized English soccer player David Beckham (28) and his former Spice Girl wife Victoria (29) are set to visit Japan later this month. They’re already in a new TV commercial for aesthetic salon TBC entitled “See You Soon.” You’ve been warned.

• Singer Kadokawa Hiroshi (49) is a father again. His wife Saori (28) gave birth to their second child, who they’ve named Hana (Flower). kadokawa also has a 21-year old daughter from a previous marriage.

• Aging pop queen Matsuda Seiko (41) has said that she would like to marry again. With two divorces behind her, she’ll be hoping to make it third time lucky. She married actor Kanda Masaki in 1985, with whom she had a daughter – she and Sayaka have recently appeared in TV commercials together. She also had a short-lived marriage to a dentist a few years back.

Tasogare Seibei, the samurai drama that has won just about every movie award in sight since its release last year, has another feather in its cap. The 22nd Fujimoto Prize, named after the late Toei Studios producer Fujimoto Masumi, was awarded to director Yamada Yoji. The movie starred two of Japan’s most repsected actors of the moment, Sanada Hiroyuki (photo) and Miyazawa Rie. Sanada will also appear in the upcoming Tom Cruise movie The Last Samurai.

Legendary idol singers Pink Lady have started their first tour in 22 years. The duo were huge at the end of the 1970s, and their success paved the way for a new brand of commercialism in pop music. Still looking good, the two 45-year olds, popularly known as Mii and Kei, got a great reaction from a largely middle-aged audience with choreographed renditions of hits including UFO and Southpaw. The tour will visit 120 venues over the next two years.

Respected actor and former leader of the legendary comedy team Drifters, Ikariya Chosuke (71), has been admitted to hospital for cancer treatment. He recently felt discomfort in his neck and was found to have a tumor in his lymphatic system. He is expected to undergo about 7 weeks of treatment. He wants to be fit in time for the opening of the new movie “Bayside Shakedown II” in mid-July.

• As expected, comedian Tanaka Naoki (32) and TV personality Kohinata Shie (23) got married yesterday.

• Nippon TV presenter Matsumoto Shinobu (33) and composer Iwashiro Taro (38) are said to be planning a wedding for sometime this month.

• Sumo champion Chiyotaikai (27) has admitted his relationship with TV personality Kawamura Hikaru (23) but denies that they have marriage plans. He is said to have been a fan and approached her in April.

A glitter from the ring finger of actress Yonekura Ryoko (photo, 27) had the media speculating once again on her rumored relationship with Musashi co-star Ichikawa Shinnosuke (24). Or it might have been just a subtle method of drawing more publicity to the struggling NHK taiga drama series.

• Actress Ishida Hikari (31) has given birth to a bay girl at a hospital in Kobe.