Yumiko Fukushima is the wife of the legendary Japanese baseball star, Ichiro Suzuki. After a most illustrious career that spanned over 26 years across two countries and two continents, Ichiro honourably retired on March 21, 2019, after a season with Seattle Mariners. With the media attention that his retirement generated, one of the prominent questions people are asking about him is who is the woman in his life. So in this post, we bring you all you need to know about Ichiro Suzuki’s wife Yumiko Fukushima.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Yumiko Fukushima was born a Japanese citizen on December 10, 1965. Her birthplace is Matsue-Shi, the capital city of Shimane Prefecture in the Chugoku region of Honshu in Japan. Although we do not have information on Yumiko’s parents, we know she has an elder sister named Atsuko Fukushima, a college graduate who is three years older than her and who has worked as a broadcast journalist as well as a flight attendant back in Japan.
Concerning her education history, we do not have any information yet on Yumiko Fukushima’s elementary school and high school background. But the information available to us shows that she passed through Keio University, a research institution located in Minato within the administrative-territorial entity of Tokyo.
We are yet to ascertain the exact cause of study that Yumiko Fukushima pursued at college but we would assume it is probably related to journalism because like her sister Atsuko, Yumiko also worked in the mainstream media prior to her marriage to Suzuki. In particular, she worked as a sports journalist for Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) TV which she eventually resigned from before she moved to the US where her husband plied his trade with the Seattle Mariners at the time.
Before Yumiko’s husband, Ichiro Suzuki started playing in the United States in April 2001, he had already been playing professionally in his home country of Japan since July 1992. Fukushima and Suzuki are said to have met for the first time on an occasion when she interviewed the athlete, being a sports journalist. From there, a friendship developed between two of them and eventually transformed into a romance. Thus on December 3, 1999, the couple wedded at a church in Santa Monica, California. Their marriage, however, is yet to produce any kid.
Earnings And Net Worth
As already said, Yumiko Fukushima worked for a foremost Japanese TV before she moved to the United States. After moving to the United States, Yumiko Fukushima has been working as her husband’s finance manager since 2002. But we do not know how much she earns in that position. So for now, we are not yet able to access Fukushima’s earning record, therefore, her net worth remains under review.
Her husband Suzuki, however, is reported to be worth over $180 million, a net worth he has gathered from his career as a baseball player, including his salaries, bonuses, endorsements and more.
Other Interesting Facts About Yumiko Fukushima
Age Difference With Her Husband
Fukushima is 7 years 10 months and 12 days older than her husband Suzuki. While she was born on December 10, 1965, as already noted, her husband was born on October 22, 1973. As a young baseball player in Japan, Suzuki is said to have been the toast of a bevy of teenage girls but he chose to go for a professional who was older than him.
She Dated Another Baseball Player Before Suzuki
Yumiko Fukushima’s husband Suzuki is the subject of at least two US-published books that we know about. One of the authors Robert Whiting in his book The Meaning Of Ichiro: The New Wave From Japan And The Transformation Of Our National Pastime mentioned that Fukushima had been dating another baseball player prior to getting hooked to Suzuki. But while the author failed to mention the name of the baseball player in question, he said the said baseball player played in the Central League while Suzuki played in the Pacific League both in Japan.
Yumiko is A Forgiving Woman
If not because Yumiko Fukushima has a forgiving attitude, her marriage to Suzuki wouldn’t have happened. This is because, during the final months leading up to their wedding, Suzuki was caught in an affair with a married woman. The affair which was reported by the Japan Times became public. However, according to Suzuki, after talking it over with his wife, she forgave him and so their wedding held against all odds. Better still, they have been living together happily ever after that.