TOKYO — A Japanese couple with a 34-year age gap has drawn widespread attention online after sharing the story of their marriage on a popular Japanese variety program, highlighting a relationship in which the groom’s own mother is nine years younger than his wife.

The couple, identified by their given names Hiromi, 60, and Kota, 26, appeared on the Japanese streaming variety show “Women Who Can’t Stay Still,” broadcast on the platform Abema, where they discussed how they came together and eventually married despite the significant age difference between them, according to reporting on the episode, which aired Aug. 14.

According to the program, Hiromi and Kota married roughly a year after they first met. The couple described spending nearly all of their time together, saying they are rarely apart except when using the bathroom, according to comments they made during the segment illustrating the closeness of their relationship.

Both Hiromi and Kota work as stage actors, and the couple said they have also taken on delivery work together since getting married, balancing their performing careers with additional employment to support themselves as a household.

Kota explained that his attraction to Hiromi began after watching her dance, describing the moment as the catalyst for his interest in her despite their significant age difference. Hiromi, for her part, said she had been drawn to Kota from the very first time she saw him and took the initiative in pursuing the relationship. She said the 34-year gap between them was never viewed by either of them as a significant obstacle to building a life together.

Before meeting Kota, Hiromi had been married three times previously and has three children from those earlier relationships, according to details shared during the program.

Despite the relatively smooth start to their romantic relationship, the couple said the path to marriage was not without difficulty. According to the program, Kota’s family initially opposed the relationship and declined to meet with Hiromi when the two first began dating. Kota’s mother, who is 51 years old, is nine years younger than Hiromi, a detail that added an unusual dynamic to the family tension surrounding the couple’s relationship.

Rather than stepping back in the face of that opposition, Hiromi said she continued working to build a relationship with Kota’s family, hoping to eventually earn their acceptance. According to the program, those efforts ultimately succeeded, and the family came to approve of the marriage between Hiromi and Kota.

Reflecting on how they have managed public reaction to their relationship, the couple said they try not to place significant weight on how others perceive their marriage, instead emphasizing their commitment and affection for one another as the foundation of their relationship.

The couple’s story has generated significant online discussion since the episode aired, part of a broader trend of Japanese variety programming that has increasingly featured couples with large age gaps or other unconventional relationship dynamics, drawing both curiosity and debate from viewers regarding social norms surrounding age, marriage and family acceptance in Japan.

Japan’s marriage and dating norms have shown gradual signs of shifting in recent years, even as the country continues to grapple with a declining marriage rate and falling birth rate that have drawn significant policy attention from the Japanese government. Media coverage of unconventional couples, including significant age-gap relationships such as Hiromi and Kota’s, has occasionally sparked broader public conversations about changing attitudes toward marriage and partnership choices among different generations in the country.

While such relationships remain relatively uncommon and continue to generate strong reactions, both supportive and critical, Japanese entertainment programming has shown a growing willingness in recent years to feature couples navigating significant age differences, family opposition, or other circumstances that diverge from more traditional marriage narratives, often framing these stories as examples of personal choice and individual happiness overcoming social expectation.

For Hiromi and Kota, the unusual detail of Kota’s mother being younger than his wife has added a particularly striking element to their story, one that has been widely highlighted across social media discussions of the couple following the broadcast. The family dynamic underscores just how significant the 34-year age gap between the couple is, placing Hiromi closer in age to Kota’s grandparents’ generation than to his own peer group in a conventional sense, while also placing her in an unusual position relative to Kota’s mother specifically.

As of this report, neither Hiromi nor Kota has indicated plans for further media appearances beyond the initial broadcast, though the significant online attention the story has generated suggests continued interest in the couple’s relationship may persist in Japanese entertainment media in the coming weeks. The program itself, “Women Who Can’t Stay Still,” has featured a range of personal and relationship-focused stories since its launch, with this particular episode standing out for the scale of public reaction it generated following its broadcast.

The story adds to a broader catalog of unconventional relationship narratives that have periodically captured public attention in Japan and internationally, often prompting renewed discussion about the role family approval, social perception and generational attitudes play in shaping how couples navigate relationships that diverge significantly from more traditional age and family structure expectations. Whether the attention surrounding Hiromi and Kota’s story will influence broader public conversation about age-gap relationships in Japan remains to be seen, though the couple’s willingness to share their story publicly, despite the family opposition they described facing early in their relationship, has already made their marriage one of the more widely discussed personal stories in recent Japanese entertainment coverage.

Buc-ee’s planted its flag in Arkansas on Monday, opening its first location in the Natural State as the Texas-based travel center chain continues an aggressive expansion across the U.S.

The new Buc-ee’s in Benton opened its doors at 6 a.m. CT and spans 74,000 square feet, with 120 fueling positions. The company said the sprawling travel center will create more than 200 jobs.

The Arkansas debut brings Buc-ee’s to 58 locations nationwide, further extending a brand that began as a Texas roadside institution into new markets across the country.

Located at 1400 Highway 229, the store offers the chain’s signature assortment of Texas barbecue, homemade fudge, kolaches, Beaver Nuggets, jerky and fresh pastries, along with the famously clean restrooms that have helped turn Buc-ee’s into a roadside destination.

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Visitors shop for brisket sandwiches at the first Buc-ee’s to open in Virginia, off Interstate 81 in Mt. Crawford. (Valerie Plesch/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“We obviously picked Benton, the ‘Heart of Arkansas,’ to be the first Buc-ee’s in the Natural State,” Stan Beard of Buc-ee’s said ahead of the opening.

“Folks on their way to or from Hot Springs or any number of beautiful destinations around Benton and Little Rock will stop in for our great Texas BBQ, the cleanest restrooms in the universe, and a pit stop beyond their wildest expectations,” Beard added.

Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Texas, Buc-ee’s operates 37 stores in its home state, according to the company. Its footprint now also includes locations in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Customers shop for apparel inside Buc-ee’s in Luling, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The Benton opening came just five days after Buc-ee’s opened a new location in San Marcos, Texas, on Aug. 12, underscoring the pace of the company’s expansion beyond its longtime Texas base.

Earlier this year, Buc-ee’s entered two other new markets, opening its first Ohio location in Huber Heights in April before making its Arizona debut with a new travel center in Goodyear in June.

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More growth is already in the pipeline. Buc-ee’s is expected to open another travel center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on Nov. 16, followed by several additional locations across the country in the coming years.

Employees prepare food inside Buc-ee’s in Luling, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Six locations are slated for 2027, including Ruston, Louisiana; Kansas City, Kansas; Gallaway, Tennessee; St. Lucie, Florida; Boerne, Texas; and Monroe County, Georgia. Another two are planned for 2028 in Mebane, North Carolina, and Lafayette, Louisiana.

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Additional locations are scheduled for 2029 and beyond, including West Memphis, Arkansas; Ocala, Florida; and Oak Grove, Kentucky, in 2029, followed by Hardeeville, South Carolina, in 2031.

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McDonald’s adds energy drinks for first time. (0:15) L3Harris CEO steps down over conduct. (1:01) Big Tech has $3T in off-balance-sheet commitments. (1:29)

This is an abridged transcript of the podcast:

Our top story so far, from Happy Meals to Hyper Meals.

McDonald’s (MCD) officially added energy drinks to its menu for the first time today with the debut of its new Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer.

The energy drink is made with Red Bull, blue raspberry flavoring and freeze-dried dragonfruit pieces. Customers can also order a reduced-sugar option with Red Bull Zero or a regular 8.4-ounce Red Bull can.

A Citi survey showed that 60% of energy beverage consumption at restaurants and coffee shops is incremental. Meanwhile, 49% of respondents said an energy drink purchased at a restaurant would replace one purchased elsewhere.

And 74% of respondents are very or somewhat interested in purchasing energy drinks from a restaurant or coffee shop, including 44% who are very interested.

Morgan Stanley thinks the energy drink platform could be a “swing factor” for McDonald’s investors to watch in the second half of the year.

Among active stocks, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) is lower after Chairman and CEO Christopher Kubasik stepped down over conduct that was “not consistent” with the company’s values. But L3Harris stressed the departure was not related to its financials or operations.

Wells Fargo upgraded Okta (OKTA) to Overweight from Equal Weight, citing signs of improving demand and execution in its core business.

Analyst Richard Poland said the company’s focus on large enterprises, including adding capacity and expanding partnerships, is “bearing fruit.”

And nine big tech companies have around $3T in off-balance-sheet commitments, mostly tied to AI infrastructure, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The paper looked at expenses at Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Meta (META), Oracle (ORCL), Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Broadcom (AVGO), SpaceX (SPCX) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) that aren’t reflected on their balance sheets but instead appear in the footnotes of their most recent securities filings.

The items include obligations under outstanding leases, long-term borrowings and purchase commitments. And they’re growing faster than traditional capex.

In other news of note, popular ice cream maker Rebel Creamery has filed for bankruptcy less than one month after losing a lawsuit against rival Van Leeuwen over trademark rights.

The privately owned company built its identity around low-carb, high-fat products with no added sugar.

Van Leeuwen sued Rebel in April 2021, alleging that Rebel’s packaging copied its distinctive pastel, monochromatic look and black-script branding.

And the first-ever electric car manufactured by Ferrari (RACE) was sold at Sotheby’s for $40M — a new vehicle auction record.

Ferrari filled its entire 2026 allocation of just under 500 Ferrari Luce cars in less than two months after its May launch, despite a base price around $640K and mixed public reactions to its design.

And in the Wall Street Research Corner, space is moving from the final frontier to an institutional asset class, as falling launch costs, private investment and public-market funding reshape the orbital economy.

In a report titled “The Second Space Age,” Goldman Sachs said space is becoming “a new pillar of the industrial economy,” with its own supply chains, infrastructure nodes and points of concentration where economic power can accumulate.

The global space-based economy (NASA) (UFO) is forecast to reach $1.8T by 2035. More than $55B was invested into the space ecosystem in 2025, while the first quarter of 2026 posted a record $36B of investment.

‘This strategic partnership represents a significant step in converting our platform science into high-value commercial channels’

Newcastle biotech business BSF Enterprise has struck a strategic partnership with a German consulting firm to help commercialise its pioneering products. The company is set to work with Schakau Managementberatung to commercialise bio-engineered skin materials for use in humanoid and industrial robotics, as well as its lab-grown leather in luxury vehicles.

Its portfolio of lab-grown leather products – including the T-Rex Leather which famously featured in a luxury handbag – are set to be promoted to European luxury automotive manufacturers for applications such as “interior trim, steering elements and premium accents”.

Meanwhile within the robotics market, BSF is also advancing its technology into the rapidly emerging robotics sector.

In a statement to shareholders, directors said that, as humanoid and specialised robotics move toward complex industrial and domestic environments, traditional synthetic outer layers present performance limitations.

It said: “BSF’s platform enables the production of bio-engineered human skin equivalents-advanced biological surface layers designed to provide natural flexibility, structural compatibility, and seamless bio-interface integration.”

Schakau will provide access to automotive manufacturers and other potential commercial partners. The Heads of Terms are targeting a binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the development or licensing of Lab-Grown Leather products during September to December 2026. A binding MOU with a Tier-1 partner for Robotics Skin / Biological Interface development is targeted during September 2026 to January 2027.

The commercial framework includes a six-year revenue-sharing structure, alongside equity incentives depending on performance. Schakau may also introduce capital. Capital introduced by Schakau attracts a success fee of 5% up to £10m, 4% from £10m-£25m, 3% from £25m-£50m and 2% above £50m, payable in cash or equity on completion.

BSF retains 100% ownership of its underlying intellectual property, including patents, tissue scaffolds, trade secrets and cell-manufacturing processes.

Chief executive Che Connon said: “This strategic partnership represents a significant step in converting our platform science into high-value commercial channels. Entering the ultra-luxury automotive sector gives us direct communication with decision-makers who define luxury craftsmanship, allowing us to commercialise our lab-grown leather in bespoke vehicle programs.

“Simultaneously, extending our tissue-scaffolding technology into biological interface materials for robotics opens a vast new market opportunity. By applying our expertise in bio-engineered human skin equivalents, we are positioning BSF at the intersection of biotechnology and advanced robotics. We have built a commercial framework that protects our IP while giving our partner every incentive to secure major OEM contracts.”

Nico Schakau, managing sirector of Schakau Managementberatung GmbH, added: “For more than two decades, we have worked at the intersection of engineering, advanced materials and the automotive industry. But some ideas have the potential to reach far beyond the industries in which they begin.

“We believe biological materials could fundamentally change the way humans and machines interact. As humanoid robotics becomes part of our everyday world, the interface between human and machine will matter just as much as the intelligence within it. Tissue engineering opens the door to an entirely new generation of biological interfaces – more natural, more adaptive and ultimately more human.

“Lab-grown leather gives us an extraordinary opportunity to demonstrate what this technology can achieve today. Robotics gives us a glimpse of what it could become tomorrow.”

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It newly supported 1,400 firms in Wales in its last year financial year

The British Business Bank newly supported 1,400 smaller businesses across Wales in its last financial year. It said with its backing these businesses are forecasting to create 1,300 new jobs and support a further 17,200 existing ones.

In its third annual impact report for its 2025-26 financial year the economic development bank of the UK Government estimates the supported firms will generate £600m in additional turnover which will deliver a forecast uplift in economic output of £300m to the Welsh economy over the lifetime of the finance they have received.

For the UK as whole, through direct lending to SMEs, lending guarantees and leveraged funding on deals, the British Business Bank said it has a £9.4bn impact in its last financial year benefitting 38,000 firms. The bank has not provided figures on investment levels for Wales or the other nations and regions of the UK.

A key driver to the bank’s impact in Wales is its £130m Investment Fund for Wales (IFW). The fund’s equity element is managed by Foresight. As well as its equity element the Investment Fund for Wales has a large debt fund up to £2m per deal managed by Development Bank of Wales subsidiary FW Wales, and a small debt component, up to £100,000, managed by BCRS Business Loans.

The fund celebrated its two-year anniversary earlier this year with a £37m investment milestone, following over 102 investments supporting 93 businesses across Wales, spanning a wide range of sectors and attracting additional private sector investment into the Welsh economy.

Recent investments include the fund’s largest equity investment to date – a £3.5m investment into industrial services firm Advantiv to supporting its expansion, new UK locations and operational innovation.

The bank is also expanding support to the Cardiff City region through a new £6.5m innovation cluster, helping drive more equity investment into businesses operating in the eight priority industrial strategy sectors.

Jess Phillips- Harris, director, Wales, local growth team at the British Business Bank, said:“This year’s impact report shows the real difference that British Business Bank support is making to businesses and communities across Wales.

As the bank’s support continues to grow, we’re backing more businesses across a wider range of sectors, while bringing more private investment into Wales alongside our own funding. This is helping innovative companies develop new technologies, manufacturers expand their operations and entrepreneurs turn ambitious plans into long-term growth.

Through programmes such as the Investment Fund for Wales, Start Up Loans and angel syndicate initiatives, we’re backing ambitious businesses across Wales, helping individual companies grow while strengthening local economies, supporting skilled jobs and contributing to long-term prosperity across the country.”