Kenji Haga, who has long had a reputation as a playboy, announced on Wednesday that he is engaged to 29-year-old Mayu Yamada. The announcement came during an exhibition for Haga's own jewelry business. He proposed to Yamada earlier this month, but the date of the wedding has not yet been decided. The engagement ring is one that Haga personally designed two years ago, a 7-carat diamond ring with an estimated sale value of between 50 to 70 million yen.

Rising star Yui Aragaki has been appointed as the new image character of Pocky. Commercials for a new Pocky product will be introduced next month, featuring Aragaki performing several types of dance.