China Celebs

Japanese Table Tennis Star Not Allowed to Marry Taiwanese Boyfriend

A Japanese women’s magazine recently reported that the Japan’s Table Tennis Association is thwarting the marriage of table tennis star Ai Fukuhara to Taiwanese fellow Olympian Chiang Hung-Chieh. On Weibo, some netizens understand why.

Published

10 years ago

August 26, 2016

Manya Koetse

Japanese women’s magazine Josei Jishin(女性自身) recently revealed that the Japan Table Tennis Association is preventing the 28-year-old table tennis star Ai Fukuhara (福原爱) from marrying her boyfriend Chiang Hung-Chieh (江宏杰), a table tennis player and fellow Rio Olympian from…

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Manya Koetse

Manya Koetse is a sinologist, writer, and public speaker specializing in China’s social trends, digital culture, and online media ecosystems. She founded What’s on Weibo in 2013 and now runs the Eye on Digital China newsletter. Learn more at manyakoetse.com or follow her on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

1 Comment

ななし

October 10, 2016 at 1:18 am

Why did you believe stupid yellow journalism? In your country, can sports associations interfere with marriages of players? What a ridiculous!

Reply

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🔥 China Trend Watch — Week 50 (2025)
Part of Eye on Digital China. This edition was sent to paid subscribers — subscribe to receive the next issue in your inbox.

Welcome to the Eye on Digital China newsletter. This is the China Trend Watch edition — a quick catch-up on real-time conversations.

I’ve rounded up my latest China trip that brought me from Chongqing to Nanjing, Wuhan, Zaozhuang and Beijing, for some…