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Stars Breaking Up | March 31, 2006 |
 Talento Asagi Kuniko (43) held a press conference yesterday to announce her divorce after 12 years of marriage to composer Matsumoto Akihiko (43). She registered their divorce at the local municipal office in person. Asagi said the main reason for the split was lack of communication, which is ironic as she and her ex are renowned for their conversational ability. She also cited their busy schedules that rarely allowed them to spend much time together as a family. Asagi has custody of their only daughter, born just months after their marriage in 1994, while Matsumoto has parental authority. The couple were childhood friends and married after they met again years later. Asagi first went into modeling after dropping out of Gakushuin University, and made her acting debut on NHK in 1987. Over the following decade, she built up her career and popularity as an emcee and variety show guest. Matsumoto is best known as the composer for the "Odoru Dasosasen" movie series.
• Also getting divorced yesterday was actor Hagiwara Kenichi (55), who separated from his second wife of nine years. Hagiwara has had a troubled few years, causing a traffic accident in 2004 and being questioned by authorities for attempted blackmail last year. He and former makeup artist Yuki agreed on a settlement at the Yokohama Family Court on March 30.
• Singer Gackt is to make his TV drama debut in next year's yearlong taiga series on NHK. In "Fuurinkazan" he will play legendary medieval warlord Uesugi Kenshin (1530-78). It will also star stage actor Uchino Masaaki (37) in the lead role of Yamamoto Kansuke and kabuki actor Ichikawa Kamejiro (30)as Uesugi's rival, Takeda Shingen. The title of the series is an expression that translates as "as fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain". Despite having the ability to play a variety of musical instruments and speak several languages, the multi-talented Gackt has continued to maintain his quirky image and hide his age, though he has shown in many commercials that he's not afraid to poke fun at himself. He wrote and starred in the 2003 movie "Moon Child", but the former singer for visual rock band Malice Mizer has focused more in the last couple of years on his solo music than on acting. At the end of last year, he took on the image of a medieval knight on horseback for his first concert at Tokyo Dome. In the upcoming taiga series he says he hopes to revive Japan's lost "samurai spirit".
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