Ichiro Suzuki is a household name in baseball. We’re referring to the now-retired famed Japanese professional baseball outfielder who spent his career with the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins.
However, today’s spotlight will be on his wife, Yumiko Fukushima. Yes, for those who are unaware, Yumiko is Ichiro’s better half, and the two have been together for two decades.
Similarly, Fukushima is a former Tokyo Broadcasting System sports reporter. I’m sure many were unaware, as it’s a given that being the wife of a famous person has its cons.
Ichiro Suzuki’s Net Worth and Income
Yumiko Fukushima is most known as Ichiro’s wife, but she is so much more. Fukushima is a former sports reporter and TV host for a Japanese television channel.
Baseball is thought to be how they met.
In “The Meaning of Ichiro: Japan’s New Wave and the Transformation of Our National Pastime,” she was a sports reporter for TBS.
After Ichiro joined the Seattle Mariners in 2001, Fukushima resigned her job and moved to America.
He then played for the Yankees and Marlins before returning to Seattle in 2018.
Ichiro announced his retirement after the Mariners’ game against the Athletics in Tokyo on March 21, 2019. This gave the national hero a chance to thank his own country’s fans.
The Seattle Mariners also paid tribute on Twitter, writing,
“I’ve had a great deal of success in baseball, both in Japan and in Major League Baseball since 2001. I’m pleased to end my big league career with Seattle, and it’s fitting that my final games were in Japan.”
Due to her inactivity, Yumiko’s net worth is unknown. Her husband, Ichiro Suzuki, is worth an incredible $120 million thanks to his stellar baseball career.
He also earns money from endorsements and advertisements. Just from commercial sales, he made $4 million in 2016.
According to Forbes, Suzuki made almost $7 million from endorsement deals in Japan.
They are recognized for their charity as well as their wealth. In 2011, they donated $1.25 million to tsunami and earthquake victims in Japan.
Personal, Married, and Children’s Lives
Suzuki and Fukushima have been married for some time now, as we all know. The pair has been married for two decades and is still going strong.
Yumiko and Ichiro began dating in 1997, according to the biography “Ichiro Suzuki: Baseball’s Most Valuable Player.”
The book’s author, David Aretha, claims that though many young female fans, particularly adolescent females, idolized Ichiro, the great baseball player “established a long-term relationship with a professional lady seven years his senior.”
Yumiko, on the other hand, is seven years older than Ichiro, who is only 46 years old. Suzuki was also believed to be excited about their relationship and the prospect of their becoming an average couple, despite the fact that both of them were celebrities.
Similarly, as expected, the couple garnered much attention. Unfazed and unflinching, the two became engaged in the fall of 1998.
Wedding in the United States of America – Who was Yumiko Fukushima’s ex-boyfriend?
The two’s lives prior to becoming engaged and dating are unknown to the public. However, according to the first section’s reference to the book “The Meaning of Ichiro,” Fukushima was already devoted to another baseball star.
Though the author did not identify the athlete, he indicated that he was a Central League player. Ichiro played in the Pacific League for those who are wondering.
Nonetheless, Yumiko and Ichiro married in the United States to make the ceremony modest and intimate. The couple married in Santa Monica, California, on December 3, 1999.
Even after twenty years of marriage, the couple has not been able to conceive a child. Rather than that, the two care for their dog, Ikkyu, whom they adore. When asked about the pet’s name for the first time, Suzuki graciously said, “I do not have the dog’s permission.”
The Alleged Affair With Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro and Suzuki recently celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary. They are a happy pair, and the world could not be more envious of them. However, not everything for this couple was rainbows and flowers.
Did you know they were perilously close to not making it to the altar? Yes, it was uncovered during their engagement that Ichiro was having an affair with a married woman.
According to a Japanese magazine, The Japan Times, the alleged affair occurred in the months preceding their marriage. Indeed, word of the incident spread only after the woman’s husband learned of it.
Suzuki, though, denied knowledge of the woman’s marriage when questioned. He even paid the woman a hefty $12.5 million in “consolation money.”
Indeed, many believed Fukushima would end their connection, but she did not! Ichiro addressed the topic in an interview with The Japan Times, stating, “I discussed this with my wife some time ago, and it is no longer a source of contention between us.”
Yumiko Fukushima is her husband’s staunchest supporter.
As we all know, nothing, not even Ichiro’s reported infidelity, can separate the couple. If anything, their connection strengthened, and when Ichiro relocated to the United States, Yumiko became a vital part of her husband’s life.
As you can see, Yumiko was already fluent in English prior to moving to the United States. According to author Robert Whiting’s “The Meaning of Ichiro,” Fukushima was a typical Japanese woman who adhered to long-standing convention. He added,
“Japanese photographers observed her walking three steps behind her husband during post-wedding trips. It was a conventional and courteous distance that traditional-minded spouses in Japan had long observed.”
Yumiko, on the other hand, proposed that Ichiro grow a beard in order to “appear like Brad Pitt.” If that does not convey her sense of humor, then perhaps this would.
In their Miami home, they have a life-size portrait of Snoop Dogg. Yumiko’s debut American record, it appears, was likewise a Snoop Dogg tribute.
Yumiko Fukushima’s Biography – Nationality and Family
Yumiko Fukushima is a Japanese native who is best known as the retired baseball player Ichiro Suzuki’s wife.
She was born and reared in the Japanese city of Matsue, in the Shimane Prefecture. Additionally, given what we know, her racial origins are mixed.
Additionally, Fukushima has a three-year-old elder sister, Atsuko Fukushima. Her sister, it appears, worked as a broadcast journalist and flight attendant.
Apart from these details, Fukushima has not made many public comments regarding her parents. As a result, we have no idea who her parents are or where they are currently residing.
Similarly, this Japanese beauty has kept her childhood a secret; even her academics are in the dark. However, this is a supposition; Yumiko must come from a literate family.
According to the story, she is a graduate of Keio University, a Minato-based research institute. However, her major is unknown, although we anticipate journalism in light of her older sister.
That is because she began her career as a television announcer and reporter for the Tokyo Broadcasting System before relocating to the United States.
Age and Body Dimensions
Yumiko Fukushima, who has always stood alongside her husband, has become a fan favorite of many baseball fans. Fukushima was born in 1965, making her 56 years old at the present.
Additionally, she celebrates her birthday on the tenth of December each year.
Similarly, she is a Sagittarius according to the zodiac; this sign is noted for being passionate, free-spirited, and fantastic adventurers.
Fukushima reflects these characteristics in her life as a strong supporter and free spirit. Otherwise, no other woman would abandon her village and immediately follow her husband.
Yumiko, on the other hand, is 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) tall and weighs approximately 60 kg (132 lbs). Apart than these, her physical dimensions are unknown.
However, we do know that she is small, with short black hair and dark eyes.
Presence on Social Media
Yumiko is not now active on any social media platforms, but her husband is and often updates his admirers on his life.
Quick Facts
Full Name | Yumiko Fukushima |
Birth Date | December 10, 1965 |
Birth Place | Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan |
Known as | Yumiko |
Religion | Unknown |
Nationality | Japanese |
Ethnicity | Mixed |
University | Keio University |
School | Updating Soon |
Horoscope | Sagittarius |
Father’s Name | N/A |
Mother’s Name | N/A |
Siblings | An elder sister, Atsuko Fukushima |
Age | 55 Years Old |
Height | 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) |
Weight | 60 kgs (132 lbs) |
Build | Slender |
Eye color | Black |
Hair color | Black |
Profession | Former sports reporter, Celebrity wife |
Affiliated to | TBS TV |
Marital Status | Married |
Husband | Ichiro Suzuki |
Children | None |
Net Worth | Under Review |