Yoshimoto Kogyo talento Sumitani Masaki (30) stepped out of character yesterday just long enough to announce that he is now married. As he is better known as Razor Ramon HG (Hard Gay), some fans may have been surprised by his August 8 marriage to fellow talento Suzuki Anna (23). Such is the popularity of the HG character that has been almost constantly on the variety show circuit over the last couple of years. But according to his new mother-in-law, the whooping, hip-thrusting character couldn’t be further from Sumitani’s true self. When he asked for her daughter’s hand, “he spoke so quietly that he had to repeat himself three times before I could hear him.” The couple met last autumn and started dating around the end of the year when they found they had a similar sense of humor and a shared interest in pro wrestling. They plan to hold a modest wedding ceremony in the fall.
• Also going for the modest approach were musician and Hello! Project founder Tsunku (37) and his wife, a former model (25), who held their wedding ceremony at a Kyoto temple yesterday. The couple were accompanied only by their parents and the weding is thought to have cost about ¥300,000. As Tsunku is a follower of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism, they chose to have their ceremony at the Nishi Honganji temple. The couple were first introduced by a mutual friend last summer and registered their marriage in June.
• Singer Oginome Yoko (37) gave birth to a baby girl at a Tokyo hospital yesterday. It is the third child for the former idol singer and her husband, former pro tennis player Tsujino Ryuso (37). The couple married in 2001.