Love is in the air as actress Yui Aragaki, 32, and actor-musician Gen Hoshino, 40, announced last week they will be getting married. Apparently, plans for a proper wedding ceremony are still up in the air ¡ª and, of course, it¡¯s too soon to even ask about kids ¡ª but nevertheless it was a piece of celebratory news that lightened the spirits of many a Japanese fan.

While we can¡¯t call the couple exceptions, statistics indicate that wedding bells are ringing less and less these days. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, , down 12.8% from the previous year, and the number of newborn babies born in Japan and to Japanese nationals abroad hit .

So the Hoshino-Aragaki union is a bit of a morale booster when it comes to romance. The pair met on the set of the 2016 runaway hit miniseries, ¡°Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu¡± (¡°¡±), which is about an undateable bachelor named Hiramasa (Hoshino) who slowly falls in love with his housekeeper, Mikuri (Aragaki). Eventually, he proposes.