Koji Mukai’s Dating Rumors Shake Orange Fans

The January 16 issue of Josei Seven (Shogakukan) reported on the love affair between Snow Man’s Koji Mukai and golf talent Namiki, with fans of STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (formerly Johnny’s Office) talking about the member color orange is early marriage theory, The “Menkara Orange” talent has been the focus of much attention.

According to a report in “Seven,” the two became closer through their shared hobby of golf, and in the fall of 2012, they enjoyed a round date at an exclusive golf course in the northern Kanto region of Japan.

When the magazine directly contacted Namiki, she denied any intimate relationship with Mukai, saying that they had no contact first. The next day, however, her agency acknowledged that she and Mukai went golfing together, but commented again, “I am just one of many golfing buddies.”

SNS erupted into chaos following the sudden romance report

Now among the top earners within STARTO, a Snow Man member has been hit with an unexpected romance report. Although there were no two-shot photos, the news of a popular idol’s date left many fans heartbroken, causing an uproar on social media.

Amidst the commotion, STARTO fans began noticing a pattern—many idols with an orange member color have been involved in romance or marriage reports. Looking back at recent events:

In January 2023, Kis-My-Ft2’s Wataru Yokoo announced his marriage to a non-celebrity woman after six years of dating.

Then, in June 2024, Hey! Say! JUMP’s Daiki Arioka married actress Mayu Matsuoka, a relationship that had been rumored for some time.

More recently, on January 3, 2025, WEST.’s Akito Kiriyama announced his marriage to former Japan national volleyball player Maiko Kano. Notably, Yokoo, Arioka, and Kiriyama all have orange as their group’s image color.

“Additionally, SUPER EIGHT’s Ryuhei Maruyama (back when the group was still Kanjani Eight) was reported to be in a relationship with a woman 19 years younger in a FRIDAY scoop in September 2023.

Among the debuted groups, other idols assigned the color orange include Naniwa Danshi’s Ryusei Onishi (debuted in 2021) and Travis Japan’s Kaito Matsukura (debuted in 2022). So far, these two haven’t had any publicized romantic scandals but who knows what the future holds?” (Entertainment writer)

 

Hint-dropping posts on social media

Additionally, former V6 member Ken Miyake and former Sexy Zone member Marius Yo also carried the color orange during their time in their respective groups. However, both left the agency—Miyake on May 2, 2023, and Marius on December 31, 2022.

Meanwhile, STARTO debuted a new five-member group, Ae! group, in May of last year. Among the current members, none are assigned the color orange. However, in late December 2023, before their debut, then-member Taiharu Fukumoto left the agency due to a compliance violation. His member color? Orange. Ae! the group had to part ways with Fukumoto, a teammate they had endured hardships with since their Kansai Junior days, before making their CD debut the following year.

“The streak of negative news involving idols with orange member colors romance, marriage, agency departures has fans on edge.

For instance, in the case of newlywed Akito Kiriyama, his wife Maiko Kano’s hint-dropping posts on social media during their relationship had already caused a backlash, leading to a decline in his fanbase. Now, the romance reports of Koji Mukai and Namiki have surfaced.

On SNS, some fans are even joking, ‘Is orange the unlucky color of the year?’ Others are anxiously posting comments like, ‘Please let Ryusei stay safe,’ ‘Is Matsukura next?’ and ‘The orange-member early marriage theory is scary Maru-chan’ Many are simply hoping their favorite idols remain unaffected.”

While marriage is typically a celebratory event, for idol fans, it’s not always easy to accept. The real question is who will be the next orange member to have their private life under scrutiny?