Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano marries model-actress who is 18 years his junior

Asano, who is born Tadanobu Sato, dated Kurumi Nakata for about eight years. Photo: Tadanobu Asano/Instagram

Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano has announced his marriage to model-actress Kurumi Nakata, who is 18 years his junior.

Asano, 48, posted a photo of them on social media on Tuesday (Aug 23). He wrote in Japanese: "We got married."

Nakata, 30, shared the same photo on social media, writing in English and Japanese: "We got married today."

She expressed her thanks in Japanese to fans who have been supporting her and added that she would continue to improve herself while spending her days in love and smiles.

Asano, who is born Tadanobu Sato, dated Nakata for about eight years.

Their relationship was in the news in the Japanese media due to their large age gap and Nakata being only three years older than his daughter.

There have been rumours in recent years that they were planning to wed, but it was reportedly delayed due to his filming commitments in the United States and the pandemic.

Asano was previously married to J-pop singer Chara, 54, between 1995 and 2009. They have a daughter Sumire, 27, and son Himi, 22.

Asano acted in the television series Kinpachi-sensei in 1988 and later ventured into acting in films such as Zatoichi (2003) and Last Life In The Universe (2003).

He has also acted in Hollywood movies such as Thor (2011), 47 Ronin (2013) and, more recently, as thunder god Raiden in Mortal Kombat (2021). – The Straits Times/Asia News Network