Actress Makise Riho (32) is in love, according to the weekly gossip magazine Friday. And the lucky man is Nigo (33), founder of the hugely popular youth fashion brand “A Bathing Ape.” The pair met in May and started going out soon afterwards. Makise’s agency has acknowledged the relationship and rumors are that they may be already headed for marriage. In the past, Makise has been romantically linked with former pop idol Higashiyama Noriyuki, kabuki star Nakamura Kankuro and, most recently, ballet star Kumakawa Tetsuya, with whom she broke up in 2000. Nigo opened his first store, featuring his familiar ape logo, in the Tokyo youth mecca of Harajuku in 1993. He built up the brand by selling only limited numbers and through the patronage of celebrities such as SMAP‘s Kimura Takuya. He has since expanded into beauty salons, cafes and music and his success can be gauged from the fact that hepaid almost ¥200 million in taxes last year.
• Seattle Mariners star Suzuki Ichiro took a huge step towards one of the oldest records in Major League Baseball over the last couple of days, with 9 hits in two games. This has moved him with 10 hits of the all-time season record set in 1920. He has 10 games left.