<figure id="attachment_427247" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2152px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-427247"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="46329507"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/06/307b215e9d8a12e98c71baaf6739237b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-427247" class="wp-caption-text">Since the end of March last year, she had been absent from the Diet for about a month due to health issues, but now Ms. Imai appears to be in good spirits both physically and mentally.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>A sign of tying the knot?</h2>
One day in the House of Councillors chamber — Eriko Imai (41), Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet Office, smiled as she spotted an old acquaintance, a FRIDAY magazine photographer. On her left ring finger, a silver ring gleamed.
Imai debuted in the entertainment world at age 12 as a member of SPEED. After a successful run as a top idol, she made the jump to politics in the 2016 Upper House election.
“In 2022, she secured reelection, and by November of last year, she was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Reconstruction and Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet Office. On the other hand, she’s also been involved in her share of controversies. Back in 2017, she was reported to be having a bullet train affair with then-Kobe city councilor Ken Hashimoto (45),” said a political desk reporter from a national paper.
In March 2021, FRIDAY caught the pair cohabiting in Tokyo after Hashimoto divorced his wife and resigned from his council seat. Ever since, rumors of their potential marriage have circulated at every turn.
“Mr. Hashiken, brought on board as a policy adviser, and Ms. Imai have reportedly had their fair share of fights and reconciliations. Around April last year, a particularly heated argument at their shared residence even escalated to the point that the police were called. Perhaps because of that, Ms. Imai hadn’t been seen wearing a ring on her left hand in the Diet. Given this recent change, it’s only natural to take it as a tying the knot signal,” commented another political reporter.
FRIDAY approached Imai directly.
—Has there been any change in your personal life?
“I wear (a ring) on my right hand too, see? I’ve had this on my left hand since last year — it doesn’t really mean anything,” she replied.
And when asked about a possible marriage to Mr. Hashimoto, she chuckled shyly and slipped into her office.
If indeed she’s found a love as vast and endless as the light of countless stars, it’s surely a thing to be celebrated — though we can only watch and wait.
<figure id="attachment_427248" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2472px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-427248"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="30c4f29c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/06/b8ef04f7d11793eb7bfe6fae0549df81.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-427248" class="wp-caption-text">Imai repeatedly ran her left hand through her hair — was it a subtle appeal to the cameraman!?</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_427335" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-427335"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="92951764"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/06/e2439b19fd689fdf6b2be7f2ebbe9660.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-427335" class="wp-caption-text">Unpublished cut: Eriko Imai, Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet Office, with a ring gleaming on her left ring finger.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_427336" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1895px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-427336"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6b2e63c1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/06/4c4b455121ccd235afc7f627f1f7fd9b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-427336" class="wp-caption-text">Unpublished cut: Eriko Imai, Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet Office, with a ring gleaming on her left ring finger.</figcaption></figure>
From the June 20, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”

 Takeshi Kinugawa

 One day in the plenary hall of the House of Councillors, Eriko Imai, Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, smiles at a cameraman. She brushes her hair with her left hand repeatedly. ...... There is a sparkling ring on her ring finger. Is it a sign that she and Mr. Hashimoto are going to make it to the finish line! When we asked him directly,......

Is Wedding News Coming? Eriko Imai Spotted with a Ring on Her Left Hand

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