Comedian Shoji Tomoharu (33) and idol singer Fujimoto Miki (24) announced their engagement yesterday. Their management agencies sent the news by fax to the media, saying the couple have been dating for about two years and are planning to get married in July. Shoji, one half of the popular Yoshimoto (profile) comedy duo Shinagawa Shoji, has been unusually open about their relationship on variety shows, saying that he hoped they would marry someday. But Fujimoto, who is with the Hello! Project and is popularly known as Mikiti, was expected to follow the idol singer protocol and be a lot more demure about matters of the heart. She had just become leader of the hugely popular idol group Morning Musume (profile) when their relationship started. The group were on tour when she and Shoji were spotted out on a late-night date, considered unfitting behavior and a bad influence on younger members of the group, so she voluntarily left the group in June 2007. She largely dropped out of sight until April of last year, when she re-launched her career as a solo singer. She plans to “graduate” from Hello! Project at the end of this month. In yesterday’s statement, she said she plans to continue working after marriage. Also, as is usual in these situations, it was made clear that she is not pregnant.