Talento Haga Kenji (44) is finally settling down. Long regarded as one of Japan’s leading playboys, his well-publicized romance with talento Umemiya Anna (34) ended in 1999 just when the media were expecting them to announce their engagement. It was no secret that her father, actor Umemiya Tatsuo, disapproved of their relationship and it only made matters worse when they published a book of nude photos together. (Anna was soon to go through marriage, motherhood and divorce). After the split, Haga’s life went into something of a tailspin and he found himself hundreds of millions of yen in debt. But he started his own jewelry design and sales business and has found success and prosperity once again. And now he has found his true love, in the form of Yamada Mayu (29). “To be honest, I thought I’d never be able to get married,” he said. “I’m so glad I met her.” He announced yesterday that they are now engaged, but currently have no plans for a wedding ceremony (there is a rumor however that one of the TV networks is planning a live broadcast of their wedding ceremony in Hawaii at New Year). Haga proposed earlier this month, presenting Yamada with an engagement ring he designed himself two years ago. He says the 7-carat diamond ring would have a sale value of between ¥50-70 million. The Okinawa-born Haga, whose real name is Toma Mikio, had his showbiz breakthrough in 1982 when he was one of the young assistants on the Fuji TV afternoon variety show “Waratte Iitomo.”
• Hollywood actress Ann Hathaway (23) is in Japan for the first time. She’s here to promote her latest movie, the fashion comic-drama “The Devil Wears Prada”. At a PR event in Tokyo, she appeared with popular model Oshikiri Moe (26), whose slim legs grace the poster for the movie, and eight other foreign models. The movie is scheduled for release here on November 18.