Tuesday, January 12, 2016

DAIGO & Kitagawa Keiko's marriage announcement press conference

DAIGO and Kitagawa Keiko who registered their marriage today on 11 January, held a press conference to make the announcement on the same afternoon which was attended by 210 members of the media. The couple met on the set of "LADY ~ Saigo no Hanzai Profile ~" in 2011 and were first romantically linked in 2014.

Rumours were rampant that DAIGO was going to propose to Kitagawa last August after he finished the 100km charity marathon for NTV's "24 Jikan Terebi". In response to that, DAIGO admitted that he was quite flustered when the media reported details of his plan as he actually did propose to Kitagawa after finishing the race. Although Kitagawa was concerned if he could finish the race and worried about his condition, he simply told her to wait for him backstage. DAIGO then passed her a box containing a ring and merely said the letters "KSK" to her which left her baffled because she didn't know what they stood for. (DAIGO's trademark is to use acronyms for his lines) Usually, she would be able to guess what his acronyms stood for but on that day, she was too stunned to realise what it meant. Although she could tell that the box should contain a ring, she was still taken aback when she saw that it was a very expensive Harry Winston ring with a 2-carat diamond and actually returned it to DAIGO because she couldn't accept it. It was only when he explained that KSK stood for "kekkon shite kudasai" (please marry me) before she accepted the ring. Kitagawa commented that she didn't actually think that he would go ahead with the proposal despite the rumours swirling around then so she was very surprised.

When asked about their wedding plans, they said that they are still planning it so there are no concrete plans for now.

As it is increasingly rare that a celebrity couple would hold a marriage announcement press conference like them, they were asked why they decided to meet the media. DAIGO explained that they wanted to share the happy news first-hand with people who had been supportive of them all this while i.e. the fans, the people who work with them and the media. After discussing this together, they decided that this was the best way to show their sincerity. Kitagawa also commented that since she left home to come to Tokyo for her career, she has always hoped to be able to do this one day when she gets married. As for why they chose this day to get married, this was when they reunited three years after the drama's filming that they met again for the filming of a variety show "Kayoubi Surprise" on 11 January 2014. At that time, Kitagawa appeared on the show to promote her movie and after the filming, they made plans to go for a meal together which led to the development of their relationship. As she also likes the number 1, they deliberately chose to submit their marriage application at 11.11am on 11 January so as to signify a new start in their lives and for good luck. DAIGO also joked that they would probably have chosen 11 November because there are more 1s but they couldn't wait that long and chose today instead.

When asked about the reactions of their families, DAIGO said that his family are very receptive of Kitagawa and are happy that she has joined their family. Kitagawa's parents also expressed support for the couple when told of the news.

DAIGO revealed that at the start of their relationship, they already had marriage in mind which goes to show how serious they were about each other. He praised his wife for being very nice, pretty, a joy to be with, loves his music and would laugh at his jokes which gave him a lot of confidence. As such, he felt that she was too good for him. There were many reasons which led to him deciding to go ahead for the proposal and it would take him a good 24 hours to list them. Kitagawa said that when DAIGO asked her to be his girlfriend with the aim of marriage in mind, she had the same intention but there was no timeline when that would be. She cited the three-month preparation period for the charity marathon as a catalyst leading to their marriage when she supported him through the training.

As for how they address each other, DAIGO said that they would call their first names where he uses "Keiko-chan" while she calls him "DAIGO-san" in front of others but uses "DAIGO-kun" or "DAI-chan" in private. DAIGO also stressed that he would prefer to keep the other nicknames he has for his wife for future appearances on TV.

When asked if DAIGO had reported his marriage to his grandfather i.e. the late former prime minister Takeshita Noboru, he said that as his grandfather's grave is in Shimane Prefecture, they haven't had the time to visit there personally but will go there soon to let him know the good news.

Source: Oricon

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