M!LK's Shiozaki Taichi and Actress Rina Koyama in Secret Relationship, Weekly Bunshun Reports

On Sunday, August 16, 2026, Japanese weekly magazine Weekly Bunshun (Shūkan Bunshun) reported that Shiozaki Taichi (25) of idol group M!LK, and actress Rina Koyama (小山璃奈, 23) are in a serious secret relationship. The publication said its reporters photographed Koyama repeatedly visiting Shiozaki’s apartment in Tokyo. Bunshun’s online edition published the scoop on the afternoon of August 16, tying the story to the magazine’s August 13–20, 2026 electronic issue.

Editor’s note: This article draws on the August 16, 2026 Bunshun Online report syndicated via Yahoo! News Japan and dmenu News, and on prior Japanese entertainment coverage of M!LK and Koyama’s careers. Neither artist’s agency responded to Bunshun’s fact-check request before the publication deadline.

What Weekly Bunshun reported

Bunshun’s headline framed the story around Shiozaki’s chart-topping single “Suki Sugite Horobiru!” (“I Like You So Much I’ll Be Destroyed!”) — a phrase fans use when devotion to an idol or celebrity becomes all-consuming. The magazine said the woman Shiozaki is “so into” that he could “be destroyed” is Koyama.

According to the report:

Detail	Information
Relationship status	Serious, ongoing secret dating
Evidence cited	Photos of Koyama frequently entering Shiozaki’s residence
Publication	Bunshun Online, August 16, 2026 (~6:30 p.m. JST)
Extended coverage	Bunshun digital edition — origin story, relationship details, past “hinting” rumors
Agency response	No reply from either management company by Bunshun’s deadline

Bunshun did not state in its online summary how long the relationship has lasted or whether the pair have publicly acknowledged each other. The full digital issue promises additional scoop photographs and background on what the magazine called a potential “Reiwa big couple.”

Who is Shiozaki Taichi?

Shiozaki is one of M!LK’s most visible members in Japan’s current idol wave. The EBiDAN-affiliated group marked its 12th anniversary in 2026 after breaking out nationally when the 2025 streaming release “Ii jan” went viral and follow-up hits — including “Suki Sugite Horobiru!” — dominated charts through 2025 and 2026.

Where M!LK was once defined abroad mainly by actor Sano Yuto’s parallel career, Shiozaki has become the group’s face on Japanese variety television. Sports-paper sources quoted by Bunshun describe M!LK as arguably Japan’s busiest idol group right now: omnipresent on TV, targeting the Japan Record Award after a first Kohaku Uta Gassen appearance at the end of 2025, and positioned to fill Tokyo Dome-scale venues.

Shiozaki’s variety persona is built on an unfiltered, physical comedy style. Fans nicknamed him “Shoki Sobi Niki” (“default-settings guy”) for his habitual black T-shirt and shorts uniform. Coverage cited his April 2026 Aiseki Shokudo segment — head-first into a water bucket, legs sticking up like a corpse from the lake in The Inugami Clan — as a recent example of idol-unusual stunt work that drew wide attention.

He also appeared on NHK’s summer music special Uta de Aetara 2026 on August 15, performing in a children’s-TV medley segment the night before Bunshun’s report.

Who is Rina Koyama?

Koyama began as an idol in 2016 with Magical Punchline, debuting on a major label before graduating from idol work in 2020. She has since built an acting career across film and stage.

Her current headline role is Usagi Tsukino — Sailor Moon herself — in the touring stage production “Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon” (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon). The casting places her at the center of one of Japan’s most enduring pop franchises, playing the character fans worldwide associate with the moon-themed heroine.

Bunshun noted that Koyama’s Sailor Moon connection adds a symbolic layer to the scoop: Shiozaki’s reported partner is literally starring as the franchise’s lead sailor soldier while he rides M!LK’s post-breakout fame.

Prior rumors and “hinting” online

Before Bunshun’s August 2026 report, Japanese fan communities had circulated “niowase” (hinting) speculation linking Shiozaki and Koyama — largely from social posts around 2019–2020 that fans said showed matching knits, phone cases, and dishware. Those threads never produced a confirmed relationship announcement from either side.

Bunshun’s digital edition says it revisits that earlier online chatter as part of its longer feature. The August 16 online scoop itself treats the apartment visits as fresh documentary evidence rather than relying solely on SNS pattern-matching.

Separately, other fan forums in 2025–2026 have floated a different name — talent Saijo Nakamichi — as a possible partner based on newer hinting posts. No major weekly magazine had confirmed either relationship before Bunshun’s Koyama report.

Why the story matters for M!LK

Japanese boy-idol groups operating under mainstream agency rules typically treat undisclosed dating as a reputational risk. Fans and labels have long debated whether romance undermines the “accessible fantasy” idol marketing depends on — especially for groups in active chart campaigns.

M!LK’s 2026 trajectory makes that tension acute:

• Chart momentum: Multiple consecutive hits after the 2025 breakout
• Industry goals: Record Award campaigning and arena-scale touring
• Media saturation: Constant variety exposure, including Shiozaki as a go-to guest

A Bunshun scoop at this stage does not automatically mean career consequences — responses vary by agency, fan demographics, and whether artists confirm or deny — but it lands while the group is at peak visibility.

Agency silence

Bunshun said it contacted both management companies for fact-checking and received no response by its deadline. That silence is standard in first-day scandal coverage in Japan; agencies often issue statements hours or days later.

As of the August 16 publication, neither Shiozaki nor Koyama had posted public comments on the report on their official channels.

Timeline at a glance

Date	Event
2016	Koyama debuts with Magical Punchline
2020	Koyama graduates from idol work; fan “hinting” rumors with Shiozaki circulate online
2025	M!LK’s “Ii jan” viral breakout; Kohaku debut; “Suki Sugite Horobiru!” becomes a hit
Aug. 15, 2026	M!LK performs on NHK Uta de Aetara
Aug. 16, 2026	Bunshun Online publishes secret-relationship scoop with apartment-visit photos

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Discussion

A variety idol at career peak and a Sailor Moon stage lead photographed at a private residence — the story sits where Japanese entertainment, franchise fandom, and idol-industry rules collide.

1. Should idol agencies treat confirmed dating reports as private life — or as a business crisis requiring a public response?

M!LK is campaigning at award season scale while Shiozaki is everywhere on TV. When Bunshun publishes visit photos and agencies stay silent on day one, what do fans reasonably expect next: confirmation, denial, or deliberate quiet?

2. Does pairing an idol hit titled “Suki Sugite Horobiru!” with a real relationship scoop change how fans hear the song?

Bunshun explicitly linked the lyrics’ fan-culture slang to Koyama. Once that frame exists, can listeners separate the track as pop product from the gossip narrative — or do the two become inseparable?

If you follow M!LK or the Sailor Moon stage run — does a reported relationship affect your support, or is it outside what fandom should police?

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