Japan Entertainment News - December 2003
Year-end Round Up | December 31, 2003 |
 Actress Abe Mihoko (28) married South Korean soccer player Choi Sung Yong (28) at a ceremony in the Grand Hilton Hotel in Seoul on December 28. Choi was formerly with J-League team Vissel Kobe and now plays in the Korean league.
• NTV presenters Uozumi Rie (31) and Mori Keisuke (25) are to tie the knot on New Year's Day. The couple started going out while co-presenting an afternoon information show. Uozumi plans to retire and become a full-time housewife. • Japan midfield star Ono Shinji (24), currently with Feyenoord in the Dutch league, and his wife Chieko (24) finally held their wedding ceremony. The couple registered their marriage in July, 2001. • Enka singer Fuji Ayako (photo, 42) and actor Kimura Kazuya (34) have broken up after less than a year together. Kimura is the eldest son of the late comedy legend Yokoyama Yasushi.
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Wedding Rush | December 25, 2003 |
 Christmas is considered a romantic time in Japan, which is maybe why, following the wedding announcement last week of actress Hirosue Ryoko (23), there seems to have been a wedding rush among TV stars. Hirosue, who is in her fifth month of pregnancy, married designer Okazawa Takahiro (28) on December 23. Actress Sakurai Sachiko (30) exchanged vows with freelance music producer Tanaka Satoshi (43) last weekend. The couple have been going out for thirteen years. Actress Okina Megumi (photo, 24) announced her engagement to marry IT entrepreneur Fujita Susumu (30) on February 1. Fujita is CEO of Cyber Agent. Former Kome Kome Club vocalist Ishii "Carl Smokey" Tatsuya (44) is to remarry in the New Year. His bride-to-be is a Canadian former back dancer, with whom he already has a child. And Fuji TV announcer Karube Shinichi (41) is engaged to marry 32-year old doctor Fukuda Yukiko next May.
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Golden Globe for Ken? | December 19, 2003 |
 Actor Ishida Issei (29) became a father today. His wife, former TV personality Miyake Emi (25), gave birth to a baby boy at a Tokyo hospital. Ishida is rebuilding his career after an arrest two years ago for drug possession. He returned from a Niigata film set to be with his wife at the birth. The couple married on December 6, Ishida's birthday.
• Actor Watanabe Ken (photo, 44) has been nominated for a Golden Globe award for his supporting role in the Tom Cruise movie "The Last Samurai." "Out of hundreds of Hollywood movies, and hundreds of actors, to be among the six chosen is truly an honor," he said. "I'm even more happy that Tom was also nominated. He called me last night on my mobile to congratulate me." Cruise was nomonated for Best Actor.
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Husband & Wife Team | December 17, 2003 |
 The title song for the new movie Casshern, the directorial debut of Kiritani Kazuaki (35), is to be recorded by his wife Utada Hikaru (20). The movie, starring Iseya Yusuke and Aso Kumiko, and single are due for release next spring. Utada is already busy planning her attack on the US market and her first concerts in four and a half years at Tokyo's Budokan.
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Acom Girl Branching Out | December 16, 2003 |
 You may have only seen her as the cute-as-pie Acom girl, but like most young women aiming for stardom, Ono Mayumi (22) has done her share of bikini shots and is now planning her recording debut. Over 100,000 copies of her Love Maui "shanshin-shu" (photo book) have been sold, and no doubt her agency are hoping for sales of her March 2004 CD release to be just as healthy. She also has another photo book coming out today and a TBS TV drama role next month - busy girl.
• Watch out for the name Hirhara Ayaka. The 19-year old has yet to make her recording debut, but is already causing quite a stir. She made No. 1 on the November Yusen request chart with her single Jupiter, which doesn't even go on sale until tomorrow. She is curently studying Jazz at the famous Senzoku Gakuen. Her debut album, over half of which she penned herself, is due to go on sale in Japan and Korea next February.
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Pregnant Hirosue to Wed | December 15, 2003 |
 In one of the biggest - and unexpected - stories in the showbiz world this year, actress Hirosue Ryoko (23) announced that she is engaged to marry model-turned-designer Okasawa Takahiro (28). At a press conference held Monday at the Westin Hotel in Tokyo and attended by over 200 members of the media, she also revealed that she is four months pregnant and will be taking an extended break from acting as of this week. The couple plan to register their marriage in the near future. Hirosue has been making a name for herself in movies, appearing alongside Jean Reno in Wasabi. But she also caused a fuss by using her fame to get into the prestigious Waseda University and later dropping out.
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Norika, Ryoko Take a Dive | December 12, 2003 |
 Former TV CM queens Fujiwara Norika and Hirosue Ryoko have fallen from grace. The latest popularity rankings put Hirosue, No. 1 in 2001, in 54th place. Fujiwara fares even worse, falling to 57th despite being No. 1 in 1999 and 2000.
• Fukumoto Hanae (27), a sports presenter for Fuji TV, is engaged to marry baseball player Fukumori Kazuo (27), who recently moved from the Yokohama Bay Stars to the Kintetsu Buffaloes. The couple plan to hold a ceremony in late January, 2004.
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Yakusho to Star in Lorelei Adaptation | December 11, 2003 |
 Yakusho Koji (photo, 47), one of Japan's top actors, is to team up with young heart throb Tsumabuki Satoshi (22) in a WWII spectacular. The ¥1.2-billion movie "Lorelei," an adaptation of a best-seller by Fukui Harutoshi that tells of a plan to thwart a third atomic bombing of Japan, is scheduled for release in 2005. Yakusho is to play submarine captain while Tsumabuki will take on the role of a young spy. The megaphone is to go to monster movie director Higuchi Shinji.
• TV personality Mukai Aki (39) and former pro wrestler Takada Nobuhiko (41) have finally become parents, thanks to a surrogate mother in the US. The American woman gave birth to twin boys at the end of November, according to a statement from their agency Tuesday. While pregnant in 2000 Mukai discovered that she had uterine cancer and lost her baby. A previous attempt to have a surrogate birth in the US also failed.
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Takeshi's Kakue Drama Shelved | December 10, 2003 |
 A special drama about legendary former prime minister Tanaka Kakue, planned for next spring, has been cancelled. The Fuji TV drama was to have starred actor/director Kitano "Beat" Takeshi (56) as the firebrand politician. In a press release, it was announced that they had not been able to elicit the cooperation of the Tanaka family. Tanaka Makiko (photo, 59), daughter of the famous leader, recently resumed her political career after a scandal forced her out of the government a year ago. Meanwhile, a TV Asahi drama on the Lockheed scandal that brought down her father, which was scheduled for Dec. 29, has also been postponed.
• Finger Five, a 70s Japanese version of the Jackson Five, played a one-night-only gig last night at the New Takanawa Prince Hotel in central Tokyo. They played four of their biggest hits, such as their 1973 debut Kojin Jugyo and the smash hit Gakuen Tengoku. It's been 27 years since the brother and sister group broke up.
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Hikki's Back | December 09, 2003 |
Pop superstar Utada Hikaru (20) is set to play her first live shows in three and a half years. The venue for the five shows, running from February 3-10, is the venerable Budokan near the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo, where she played with TLC and Monica back in 1999. Hikki married 35-year old photographer Kiritani Kazuaki in September of last year and has since been working toward a launch into the US market. An all-English album is expected next year, which could be a real breakthrough year for her.
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Papa Hyde | December 08, 2003 |
 It was reported yesterday that Hyde (age "undisclosed"), vocalist for popular rock group L'Arc En Ciel, and his TV personality wife Oshi Megumi (30) had a baby almost a month ago. No further details were provided and no doubt the "leak" is to generate a bit of extra publicity for the recent release of Hyde's second solo album "666." L'Arc are said to be gearing up for a return next spring.
• Young actress Ikewaki Chizuru (photo, 22) has admitted that she is romantically involved. She refuses to say who with, but it seems likely that it's no longer with comedian Shimane Sadayoshi (30), whom she has been linked with for the last couple of years. Ikewaki is one of the most promising young actresses and won several newcomer awards following her debut in an NHK taiga drama in 1998. She has appeared in about 30 movies and TV drama series since then.
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The Last Samurai | December 05, 2003 |
 This seems to be the year for collaboration between the Japanese and Hollywood movie worlds. Following Tarantino's Kill Bill, a homage to chambara movies, we have The Last Samurai, an epic tale of chivalry and honour. Tom Cruise has top billing, but Japanese stars Sanada Hiroyuki and Watanabe Ken are sure to get a lot of studio attention after this. Both were in Los Angeles for Monday's premiere, which received a standing ovation. It opens on the same day in the US and Japan (tomorrow Japan time) and is sure to be one of the big Christmas hits.
The Last Samurai official site | Japanese site
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Anna's New Beau | December 04, 2003 |
 TV personality and model Umemiya Anna (31) has found herself a new boyfriend. The (not so) lucky guy is 31-year old entrepreneur Nojiri Yoshitaka. Anna recently divorced after the birth of a child and the briefest of marriages, a result that only reinforced her image as one of Japan's most spoilt rich kids. She is the daughter of actor Umemiya Tatsuo. Nojiri will need to make sure that his bridal business, which took in a reported ¥5 billion last year, continues to do well if he's to support her in the manner to which she is accustomed.
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Yawara-chan Ties the Knot | December 02, 2003 |
 Judo star Tamura Ryoko (28) married baseball player Tani Yoshitomo (30) yesterday. They are scheduled to have a Christian wedding ceremony at the American Church in Paris on December 11 and host a ¥300-million reception in Tokyo on December 20. "Yawara-chan" said she had wanted to get married at the church, located by the Seine River and near the famed Eiffel Tower, since training in the area in recent years. She will miss the major tournament in her hometown of Fukuoka for the first time, because it clashes with her wedding plans. The current Olympic gold medallist, Tamura has won the World Championships in her 48kg class for a record six straight times. Tani, an outfielder with the Pacific League Orix BlueWave, also helped the Japanese Olympic team in its recent qualifying tournament.
• Headed in the other direction is TV personality Hinagata Akiko (25), who announced her divorce from her director husband today (see story below).
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Aushwitz Location for Fuji Drama | December 01, 2003 |
 The highly acclaimed Thursday night Fuji TV medical drama "Shiroi Kyoto" is to become the first non-documentary TV program to use Aushwitz as a location. The site in southern Poland will forever be associated with the Nazi death camps, and the decision to film there will no doubt draw criticism. The 11th episode of the series is a 2-hour special to be filmed this month. It will include a visit to the camp by the main character, played by Karasawa Toshiaki (photo, 40), in Poland for a medical conference. In the novel on which the drama is based, the doctor visits the camp at Dachau. The special will air from 9pm on January 8.
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