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Japan Zone Entertainment News
• TV writer Tsukada Shigeru has died at the age of 82. He was the man behind such major postwar TV hits as "8-ji Dayo! Zenin Shuugo" and "Yoru no Hitto Sutajio." He started his career in 1945 when he joined the major Toei movie studio. • Oshio Manabu (30) is getting his career back into gear. He dropped out of a promising acting career a couple of years ago to focus on music. But this week it was revealed that he has signed a contract with major record label Avex. No specific details were given about his plans, but it's thought that he's aiming to act in Hollywood. He spent his elementary school years in Los Angeles and regularly spends time there with his wife, actress Yada Akiko (29) and their six-month-old son. The couple married in November 2006. Avex has been recruiting more top acting talent recently, including kabuki star Nakamura Shido (35) and actress Koyuki (31). • Actor Fujita Makoto (75) is said to be doing well in his fight with esophageal cancer. Doctors reduced the level of his radiation therapy last week. He is able to leave hospital at the weekends and recently spent the Golden Week holidays at an onsen resort. • In its 25th year, the science fiction anime "Macross" is enjoying something of a boom. "Diamond Crevasse", the ending theme for the latest series "Macross Frontier" has entered the Oricon singles chart at No.3, as did the opening theme, "Triangular," on its release in April. The franchise was created by by Shoji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982 and has included three TV series (TBS), three movies, four OVAs, and 2 manga series. • Baseball star Aoki Norichika (26) and TV Tokyo sports announcer Ohtake Sachi (24) are romantically involved. The two are said to ahve started dating at the beginning of the year. Aoki, an outfielder for the Yakult Swallows, has been one of Japan's best hitters over the last few seasons and has woin several batting titles but is currently with the farm team recovering from a torn muscle. • Watari Kazuhisa (30), vocalist and pianist of the group Fuumidou, got married at the end of April, it was revealed yesterday. Interesting story? Then add it to your favorite social site:
Meanwhile, Jazz giant Sonny Rollins (77) performed last night at the International Forum in the center of the capital. On his 24th visit to Japan, the tenor sax master performed a set of nine songs, including "In a Sentimental Mood" and "Saint Thomas", from his 1956 album "Saxophone Colossus" and his most recognizable instrumental. He plays at the same venue again May 19. • JASRAC has announced the biggest royalty-earning songs from last year. The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers based its rankings not just on CD sales but also things like digital downloads and karaoke. The top five earners were:
• Pop queen Koda Kumi (25) has been replaced as the pitchwoman for Kirin's chuhai brand. She appeared in commercials for "Kirin Chuhai Hyoketsu" for several years but the spots were all dropped back in February after Koda said some things she shouldn't have on a radio show. A Kirin spokesperson said simply, "Ms. Koda's contract was originally until this spring." She has been replaced by actress Fukuda Kyoko (25). • Freelance announcer Yukino Tomoyo (44) gave birth to her first child in Tokyo yesterday. The baby boy was born by Caesarean as her husband, a 41-year-old real estate company president, and parents waited outside the delivery room. Early in her pregnancy, Yukino was hopitalized for three weeks due to fears of a miscarriage. She plans to return to work in September and publish a book on her pregnancy and motherhood. She and her husband have a teenage son from his previous marriage. • Actress Kimura Yoshino (32) and actor Iseya Yuusuke (31) are in Cannes for the 61st International Film Festival. A couple off-screen, the pair appear in the movie "Blindness" which opened the festival yesterday. The only Japanese among the cast, they play a married couple living in a town where everyone has been struck with a mysterious case of sudden blindness. Interesting story? Then add it to your favorite social site:
• Actress Oyama Nobuyo (71) suffered a mild stroke in addition to her recent heart attack, it was revealed this week. For many years the voice of anime robot cat Doraemon, Oyama was hospitalized in April and was expected to leave hospital at the beginning of this month. But following the discovery of the stroke, it was decided to keep her in for further tests and rehabilitation. • Japan-based Korean singer Kye Eun Sook (46) has returned to her home country after being refused a visa extension. She was arrested by Tokyo police in November 2007 for drug possession and received an 18-month prison sentence suspended for three years. After a three-month investigation last year, police found amphetamines and paraphernalia in the Tokyo apartment she shared with her 85-year-old mother. Born in Seoul, Kye was a model before becoming a singer and first came to Japan in 1984. She had several hits between the late 1980s and early 90s, but also has also faced huge gambling debts and the suicide of her manager. On her return to Korea she is said to have undergone drug tests and is expected to check herself into a rehabilitation clinic. • Actress and former Miss Universe Japan runner-up Mion (28) announced yesterday that she and actor Takashima Masanobu (41) are planning to have two weddings. In addition to the previously announced ceremony and reception in Tokyo in August, the half-Korean Mion said they will also hold a wedding for family only in Hong Kong in December. She said that she and her future parents-in-law, actor Takashima Tadao and former Takarazuka top star Sumi Hanayo, are flying to Hong Kong today to make arrangements. The couple plan to honeymoon in Tahiti. Interesting story? Then add it to your favorite social site: |
High King is the latest pop unit to be launched from the Hello! Project ensemble. Made up of 
A couple of American music legends wowed fans in Tokyo yesterday. Pop star Cyndi Lauper (54) was her usual maniac self during a mini concert to promote "Bring Ya to the Brink," her first original album in seven years. It went on sale in Japan yesterday, ahead of its May 27 U.S. release. At the Maru Building in front of Tokyo Station, Lauper performed four songs, including the track "Set Your Heart," which has been receiving heavy airplay. During the first song, "She Bop" from her 1983 debut album, she launched herself into the invited crowd of 100 and hardly used the stage again after that, even removing her shoes as she got the audience up on their feet and dancing.
Any TV drama that stars 
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