Actress Minamino Yoko (43, photo left) is tying the knot today with a 38-year-old Internet entrepreneur, it was announced yesterday. According to sources, the couple plan to register their marriage at a Tokyo municipal office and then hold a small ceremony at a Shinto shrine. Last summer Minamino’s four-year relationship with creative director Yanai Michihiko (46), which had led reporters to speculate on a wedding date, came to an end due among other things to Yanai’s busy work schedule. Minamino also had a busy year in 2010, celebrating the 25th anniversary of her showbiz career, releasing a DVD box set and publishing a book. She is said to have met her new love about two months after splitting with Yanai.
Minamino became an overnight star in 1985 when she was cast in the lead role of the TV drama series “Sukeban Deka.” As a top aidoru, and popularly known by the nickname Nanno, she churned out a string of hit singles and albums during the late 1980s, but her musical releases since 1991 have consisted almost entirely of compilation albums. Her acting has also been mostly in supporting or guest roles since that early peak, though she appears regularly in a couple of TV dramas most years and a handful of movies over the last decade. She reportedly plans to continue her acting career after marriage.
Could it be Twins for Nishioka?
Minnesota Twins baseball player Nishioka Tsuyoshi (26, center) and his wife, popular model Tokuzawa Naoko (26, right) are expecting their first child. Tokuzawa is said to be heading to the U.S. in April and is planning to have the baby there in August. She had planned to join her husband last month in Florida, where the Twins were in spring training, but cancelled when she learned of her pregnancy. The couple tied the knot in July of last year.
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