We all have always loved the equations between the couples on portraying a character on set but sometimes we forget that they do have a life outside that set, and they are not just objects. There are many controversies regarding them when they are not portrayed as we want them to be, say when they don’t have the best hairstyle, or are dressed casually, people always try to degrade them for it. They are just like us who have bad hair days, or like dressing casually and even falling in love, be it with a non-celebrity or a celebrity they were working with or have known in the industry. In this article, we will talk about the top 10 famous Japanese stars who met on set and started dating.
1. Miho Kanno And Masato Sakai (菅野 美穂 & 堺 雅人)
Two of Japan’s most established acting couples, Sakai and Kanno, met on the set of The Castle of Crossed Destinies(大奥~永遠~) in 2012 in which they had very evident chemistry. These two had a passionate on-screen romance through which they became a real-life couple. After just three months after they started dating, they announced their marriage in 2013. They now have two children, a son born in 2015 and a daughter in 2018.
2. Riisa Naka And Akiyoshi Nakao (仲 里依紗 & 中尾 明慶)
Naka and Nakao initially met on the set of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time(時をかける少女) in 2010. The movie follows the story of Akari (Naka), who travels back in time to search for her mother’s first love and meets Ryota Mizorogi (Nakao) along the way, who helps her until fate plays a nasty trick on them. These two actors became close friends on the movie set, but they didn’t start dating until the end of 2012, when they both starred in the TV drama Tsurukame Josanin. Just after five months of dating in 2013, the two sent a fax to the media announcing that they were engaged, soon to be married and that they were expecting their first child.
3. Atsuko Maeda and Ryo Katsuji(前田敦子 & 勝地涼)
Former AKB48 idol Atsuko shocked millions of fans when she announced her marriage to actor Ryo Katsuji. These two met on the set of the Dokonjo Gaeru in 2015. They co-starred again in Women Who Eats in 2018 when they started dating. The film follows the love and food lives of eight women, which was released in Japan in autumn 2018, quickly becoming one of the most popular titles of the year. Just two months after announcing their marriage, the couple announced they were expecting their first child, making their story one of the biggest headlines of the year. Unfortunately, the couple parted ways in 2021.
4. Koyuki Kato And Kenichi Matsuyama (加藤 小雪 & 松山 ケンイチ)
Koyuki and Kenichi initially met on the set of Kamui Gaiden (カムイ外伝), the 2009 film based on the popular manga series, which follows the story of a fugitive ninja( Matsuyama). Matsuyama fell in love with Koyuki, but she repeatedly turned him down, saying he was too immature for her ( he’s eight years younger than her) but he finally won her over. The two eventually tied the knot in April 2011 and now have two sons and a daughter. They are known to be one of the strongest couples in the history of Japan’s show business.
5. Yuu Kashii And Odagiri Joe (香椎 由宇 & オダギリ ジョー)
Kashii and Odagiri met on the set of The Pavillion Salamandre (パビリオン山椒魚)in 2006, an unusual comedy about an X-ray genius(Odagiri) and a mystery surrounding a salamander. Odagiri was the one who fell madly in love with Kashii, who was only 18 at the time of filming. The two reportedly started dating on set, and eventually announced their marriage in 2008, when the actress was still just 20 years old. The couple announced they were expecting their first son in 2011, they had their second son in 2014, who unfortunately passed away due to Ileus in 2015, and they had their third son in 2016. The pair is rarely in the spotlight and have a reputation for keeping their personal life quiet.
6. Aoi Miyazaki And Junichi Okada (宮崎あおい & 岡田准一)
One of Japan’s most celebrated and award-winning actresses, Aoi Miyazaki and, idol group V6 member Junichi Okada’s love story reportedly began while they were shooting the 2008 drama Flowers in the Shadows (陰日向に咲く), in which they played a married couple. The couple got married in real life in December 2017 and, in October 2018, they announced the birth of their first child, a baby boy. The couple also co-starred in the historical drama Tenchi: The Samurai Astronomer in 2012.
7. Yamada Yu And Shun Oguri (山田 優 & 小栗 旬)
Oguri and Yamada met on the set of the NTV drama series “Binbo Danshi” in January 2008 and eventually started dating. Four years later, on March 14, 2012, the couple tied the knot on their 4th anniversary. The couple announced they were expecting their first child, and had a daughter in 2014, in 2017, Oguri announced the birth of his second child, and in April 2020, they had their third child.
8. Masataka Kubota And Asami Mizukawa (窪田 正孝 & 水川 あさみ)
The couple started dating in 2017 while they were filming the Television drama Fugitive Boys, in which they both starred. Even though they were not the primary pair, they appeared to fall in love. They dated for two years before announcing filing for their marriage paperwork on September 21, 2019.
9. Hiroshi Tamaki And Haruka Kinami (玉木 宏 & 木南 晴夏)
Tamaki and Kinami initially met through mutual friends in 2010, and became friends. The two eventually became close friends, and their friendship turned into a romantic relationship. In April 2017, they got the chance to work together in the Fuji TV drama series “Onna no Kunsho”, which follows a story of a dressmaker trying to make a name in the industry. The couple got married on June 29, 2018. On August 4, 2020, Konami's agency announced the birth of the couple’s first child.
10. Masaki Suda And Nana Komatsu (菅田 将暉 & 小松菜奈)
Japan’s new power couple Masaki Suda and Nana Komatsu were friends turned lovers. They first worked together in the film “Destruction Babies.” Suda Masaki had a crush on Komatsu Nana since their first meeting. The romance news sparked in 2019 after the pair starred in the movie Tapestry. The two have been dating since March 2020 and recently got married on November 15, 2021.