Actress Tomoko Hoshino got married earlier this month, it has been announced. The 50-year-old actress, who has recently become active as an essayist, tied the knot with a 46-year-old newspaper reporter. No date for a ceremony has been scheduled yet, but the couple is considering a honeymoon in Hawaii.

The couple first met nine years ago. Hoshino said she didn't see him as a romantic possibility at first, but they continued to keep in touch as the reporter was sent on overseas assignments in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. The turning point in their relationship came last May when he proposed before being sent abroad yet again. They chose to submit their marriage papers on May 12, exactly one year from that day.

Hoshino made her debut in NHK's 1980 Asadora "Nacchan no Shashinkan." Her other works include a starring role in a 1981 drama special based on the long-running cartoon "Sazae-san."