Shiro Matsuoka, 39, from Kawasaki, and Zhang Yi, 33, who hails from Changchung, China, first met in 2004 when they were working part-time at a McDonald's in Tokyo.

Shiro was studying to become a chiropractor and Yi was studying English, and they worked early in the morning before going to their schools. Coincidentally, both had other part-time jobs at izakaya (pubs) in the same chain to pay their school fees and cover living expenses.

One morning, they started chatting on their way to work. Later, Shiro told Yi that he'd buy her a dinner if she ever visited the izakaya he worked at, and Yi, upon quitting McDonald's, gave Shiro her phone number. After a few phone calls, they began dating. The couple went out together for 3½ years, and for most of that time they lived together. They married in 2008.