Yumiko Hotta
On May 5, Taiyo defeated Ray to become the first NEO High Speed Champion. The chemistry between Taiyo and Ray led to the two forming a tag team for July's Mid Summer Tag Tournament VIII. Though the team was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by Emi Sakura and Nanae Takahashi, the partnership eventually led to Ray joining Passion Red under the ring name Passion Ray. During 2009, Passion Red was also joined by Kazumi Shimouna and Yumiko Hotta. On July 25, Taiyo made her first High Speed Championship defense, defeating Io Shirai, and followed that up by successfully defending the title against Fuka on August 29. On September 20, Taiyo lost the NEO High Speed Championship to Kaori Yoneyama in her third defense. On November 22, Taiyo and Passion Ray received a shot at their fellow Passion Red members' Kana's and Nanae Takahashi's NEO Tag Team Championship, but were unable to become the new champions. On December 31, Taiyo faced male wrestler Kenny Omega in a losing effort. On February 14, 2010, Taiyo regained the NEO High Speed Championship from Yoneyama at a JWP event. On March 19, she successfully defended the title against Tomoka Nakagawa at Passion Red's fourth independent event. On May 3, she defended the title against Tsukasa Fujimoto at an Ice Ribbon event. On June 5, Taiyo made her final appearance for NEO, which would fold at the end of the year. On November 27, Taiyo lost the NEO High Speed Championship to Leon at Passion Red's fifth independent event.