Yusuke Yachi ♡ Haruna Kawaguchi
May 21, 2009 issue
Mixed martial artist Yusuke Yachi holds the leash of Haruna Kawaguchi’s dog, Amu. At the time, she was busy filming the drama “There’s a Reason for the Love I’m Wearing” (TBS), in which she plays the lead role, but they took time out of their schedule to meet. Yachi also won a series of matches at “RIZIN” later in the year. Both their personal and professional lives were going well.
The passionate love affair between actress Haruna Kawaguchi (26) and Yusuke Yachi (31) was an epoch-making event.
For popular actresses appearing in NHK’s historical dramas and playing leading roles in serial dramas, they do not want to be associated with “punching, kicking, choking, bloodshed, and fainting. For this reason, many of the martial artists’ girlfriends were gravure idols, models, or other “physical” beauties rather than actresses.
A symbolic example is the couple of Eiko Koike (40) and Wataru Sakata (48), who were scooped by this magazine in 2002 when they had lunch in Shimokitazawa and stayed overnight together.
At the time, Koike was dominating the gravure world with her dynamite body, while Sakata was an unknown wrestler based in Nagoya. Koike fell in love at first sight with Sakata, who had emerged from the ZERO-ONE team headed by the late Shinya Hashimoto, and the super-meatball tag team was born.
The martial artist couples photographed by FRIDAY, such as Yasuo Inoue (43) and Aki Higashihara (38), the king of judo, and Naruhisa Akiyama (46) and SHIHO (45), who were also active in the UFC, were notable for their physicality.
“But the couples photographed by FRIDAY, such as Yoshihiro (46) and Shiho (45), were notably physical. They seem to be attracted to their bare fighting instincts, and they often say, ‘I sense a male’ (laughs). (laughs) Popular fighters are favored by corporate presidents and other sponsors, and meet celebrities and actresses at dinner parties set up by them.
Koji, 32, has a saying, “I can’t help being popular.
Wataru Sakata ♡ Eiko Koike
July 14, ’06 issue
In ’02, Eiko Koike reigned supreme in the world of gravure. The one who KO’d the then 21-year-old queen was professional wrestler Wataru Sakata. The photo shows the two holding hands on a date at the gym four years after the FRIDAY scoop. The flesh-and-blood couple entered the marriage ceremony the following year.
Takeru ♡ Maggie
August 17 and 24, ’18 issue
Takeru, 30, is the absolute ace of K-1. Takeru, 30, the absolute ace of K-1, surprised this magazine with his toughness by dating Maggie, 29, for four days in a row. Kickboxing fans are looking forward to his summit clash with Tenshin Nasukawa (23), but Takeru is the winner in terms of private glamour! After watching a live concert together, they enjoyed monja-yaki in Tsukishima.
Ai Aoki, the handsome former representative of Japan Synchronized Sports
Oct. 23, ’20
From K-1 to RIZIN, Koji’s brawls outside the ring, such as his sudden move to RIZIN and his “verbal assaults” on his opponents, are his true essence. His personal life is also flamboyant, including a shabu-shabu and hotel date with Ai Aoki (36) three days after his fierce fight with Tenshin!
Rikako Morita, the handsome former women’s professional golf prize winner
May 24, ’19 issue
Rikako Morita (31) is the true love of Koji, a popular man who was even suspected of being a three-way relationship. To support her boyfriend, she moved to Tokyo from Kansai. When I interviewed Koji, who had helped her move, he said, “The woman who is chosen by me is the happiest woman in the world.
Kiyoshi Tamura♡ Former Caster Yumiko Sakurai
July 6, ’07 issue
Kiyoshi Tamura (51) is called the “solitary genius” because of his stoic attitude and ability to beat big names such as Masaaki Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada. He chose as his lifelong companion the beautiful anchor Yumiko Sakurai. His personal life was not solitary, as he took his Chihuahua on dates with her.
Magato ♡ Yazawa Kokoro
Nov. 29, 2002 issue
K-1’s wunderkind, Magato (42), used to be a naughty boy. When he visited Phi Phi Island with Shin Yazawa, he ignored a Japanese visitor who approached him. He told FRIDAY, “She’s my friend, but I’m aiming for Hollywood, so hugs and kisses are a given.
Yasuo Inoue♡Aki Higashihara
Feb. 1, 2008
A record five gold medals. His success at the Tokyo Olympics was due in large part to the skills of coach Yasuo Inoue. He won gold in Sydney, but the pressure took its toll and he lost miserably in Athens. The heartbroken judo king must have learned the importance of mental care from his girlfriend, Aki Higashihara, who was having a blast playing pachislot.
Hidehiko Yoshida ♡ Maiko Kawakami
May 27, ’94
Speaking of Hidehiko Yoshida (52), his gold medal in the Barcelona Olympics by winning all the matches by Ippon (Ippon is a Japanese word meaning “one strike”) is a story worth telling, but he also had a gold star in his personal life. He stayed at the home of Maiko Kawakami (55), who is popular for her marshmallow body. When this magazine directly hit him, Yoshida smoked it up, saying, “I was hurting my back. ……
Shigekune Akiyama♡SHIHO
March 16, ’07 issue
Shigekune Akiyama has been in the news for distributing a video confessing to the “slimy incident” (2006) in which he wore body cream to his fight against Kazushi Sakuraba. After the incident, he was suspended indefinitely, and SHIHO was the one who comforted him. When they married in 2009, she supported her husband’s advancement to the world championships.
Shungo Oyama ♡ Junko Kawada
June 18, ’21 issue
Shungo Oyama (47) was impressive when he boldly stood up to PRIDE top fighters such as Vanderlei Silva and was beaten to a pulp. However, his aggressive attitude paid off in his love life and he became a husband and wife with Junko Kawada, 46, whom he fell in love with at first sight. He may have lost the game, but his life is a big win.
From the October 22-29, 2021 issue of FRIDAY
Photography： Yuri Adachi (Yachi), Sota Shima (Takeru), Masaharu Kamimoto (Tamura), Ai Maruyama (Sakata), Kojiro Yamada (Koji), Takahiro Kagawa (Inoue), Shoichiro Tsuboi (Akiyama), Hiroshi Ito (Yoshida), Hiroyuki Komatsu (Oyama)
