Kiyoshi Nishikawa
Helen, already a star, married a lowly actor in the Yoshimoto Kogyo theatre company called Kiyoshi Nishikawa who went on to became the most successful entertainer of the manzai and owarai styles (traditional Japanese stand-up comedy involving two performers) in the 1970s and 80s. In his earlier days, Helen took care of him and his co-starring comedian, Yokoyama Yasushi.
Helen's support of her husband brought the couple glittering success and assisted in Kiyoshi's rise within Japanese national politics as an independent member of the Upper House of Councillors in the Japanese Diet. A position held for 18 years. In 1999, Nishikawa ranked fourth in a list of the wealthiest representative with 175.68 million Yen annual income.
In a recent poll, the couple were considered to be who the Japanese consider to be the second best role models of an "international couple". Their lives were dramatised in a 2006 series made by the national Nihon Television company.
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