Horiemon and Hinano a couple? It turns out that under-attack Livedoor CEO Horie Takafumi (33) and actress Yoshikawa Hinano (26) spent the New Year holiday on the tropical island of Palau. They were in a group of eleven that traveled to the tropical paradise on Horie’s ¥3 billion private jet. The IT entrepreneur is hardly in the mood to discuss the nature of the relationship, with the investigation of his company’s financial mischief having rocked the business world. In 1999, the ditzy Yoshikawa was briefly married to Izam, the cross-dressing vocalist of visual rock band Shazna, but the couple split after just 7 months. She is hardly the type Horie wants to be connected with as he seeks to re-build his reputation as an honest and serious business tycoon. Japan Zone says: Horiemon, stop the variety show appearances, drop the showbiz girlfriends and stick to making money. (No, we don’t own any Livedoor stock!)
• Actress Ito Yuko says she and comedian Watabe Ken are doing fine but have no plans for marriage. She was asked about their relationship at a PR event for the new horror movie, “Akuma no Sumu Ie” (House of the Devil), a re-make of the 1979 hit.