Japan Entertainment News - October 2008
NTV's Autumn Laugh Fest | October 31, 2008 |
 Japan's top three comedians are to host three nights of comedy specials on NTV in late November. The three two-and-a-half hour shows, hosted by Akashiya Sanma (53, profile), Tamori (63, profile), and Kitano "Beat" Takeshi (61, profile) on November 28-30, are part of NTV's 55th anniversary celebrations. Sanma will go solo in a studio filled with 30 TV monitors on which people will ask questions they've always wanted to put to him. He will have no idea what questions are coming and the show will be totally ad lib. In Tamori's first appearance on NTV in nine years he will host a show that looks into various mysteries and unanswered questions, such as why people get fired up when they hear the theme to "Rocky." The final night is perhaps the most unpredictable, given Takeshi's quirky and often manic style, and will at least be something very different.
• TV Asahi staff have been reprimanded for an incident that took place during filming of the drama series "Salaryman Kintaro." While filming in the car park of an apartment building in Tokyo's Suginami Ward, staff put false number plates on three parked cars belonging to residents. But they failed to get permission from one of the owners, which led to the police getting involved. TV Asahi president Kimiwada Masao (67) apologized for the incident in his regularly scheduled press conference on Wednesday.
• Talento Oshikiri Moe (28) was slightly injured in a traffic accident on Wednesday evening. She was riding in the back seat of a taxi in Minami Aoyama, central Tokyo. As the taxi waited to turn left at a signal, it was hit from behind by another taxi. Oshikiri suffered minor bruising to her neck.
• Police say the Tokyo home of SMAP member Kimura Takuya (35) was probably the target of a recent burglary attempt. The house's security system went off on the night of October 19 and company personnel found evidence of an attempted break-in on an upper floor window. Nothing was stolen and no report was filed with police. The house is in the same posh Meguro district as the home of comedian Matsumoto Hitoshi, which was targeted back in May.
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Young Love for Ayaka, Mizushima Hiro | October 30, 2008 |
 Popular actor Mizushima Hiro (24) and singer Ayaka (20) are madly in love, according to today's issue of weekly magazine "Friday." The mag includes a photo of the two sharing an umbrella in the rain, a common symbol of romance in Japan (similar to a heart pierced by cupid's arrow). They were spotted in Tokyo's trendy Azabu Juban district, where they enjoyed dinner together before disappearing into a luxury apartment building. The couple are both with the Ken-On management agency, who refused to comment on the story, saying only "they're both adults..." The son of a former pro soccer player, Mizushima spent his youth in Switzerland and played the sport until his university days. He graduated from the prestigious Keio University and made his acting debut in the popular NTV drama series "Gokusen" in 2005. He landed the lead role the 2006 tokusatsu action hero series "Kamen Rider Kabuto." He's appeared in a handful of movies, including the big screen version of "Kabuto" and voiced the part of Bruce Banner for the Japanese dub of "The Incredible Hulk" earlier this year. Ayaka was the first female singer-songwriter to reach the Oricon chart top 3 with her debut release "I Believe" in February 2006. The following September, her 4th single "Mikazuki" became her first No.1 and she went on to win multiple awards in her freshman year.
• In a recent edition of the "Mecha Mecha Iketeru" comedy show, comedian Hamaguchi Masaru (36) admitted that he had broken up with his girlfriend - he and ditzy talento Ogura Yuko (24) had been widely rumored to be dating for the last couple of years. But he's obviously very much in demand, as the latest issue of weekly magazine "Josei Seven" includes a story about his latest romantic conquest. Earlier this week he picked up the young woman, described as a beauty in her early 20s, by car in central Tokyo at around 9pm. The two spent several hours enjoying the Odaiba skyline before heading back to Hamaguchi's apartment. Hamaguchi is the tsukkomi half of comedy duo Yoiko, along with Arino Shinya.
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Akanishi Jin Lands Movie Lead | October 29, 2008 |
 Johnny's Jimusho (profile) idol Akanishi Jin (24) has landed his first movie starring role. The KAT-TUN member will play an early 1990s band vocalist in "Bandage," which starts filming on November 3 and is scheduled for release sometime in 2010. The project will be the first time for top music producer Kobayashi Takeshi (49) to direct a feature film, his previous experience being on the Mr. Children documentary "es." It reunites him with director Iwai Shunji (45), who created the project and is scriptwriter this time around. He decided to hand the directorial and musical controls to Kobayashi, who wrote the music for his 1996 movie "Swallowtail." Akanishi said of the movie, "I'm looking forward to working in a way that I can't experience with KAT-TUN. I think this is going to be a whole new type of Japanese movie."
• Singer Hirose Kohmi (42) has remarried, this time to a 43-year-old American employee of a computer company. In her travels between Tokyo and Los Angeles, where she's had a home for about ten years, Hirose met her new husband through a mutual friend about a year ago. She revealed on her website yesterday that they tied the knot in his hometown of San Francisco on October 12. They are looking for a new home together in California, though Hirose is now back in Japan preparing for a new album release and a concert tour. She was previously married to actor Ohsawa Takao from 1999 to 2006.
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Return of the Bubblegum Brothers | October 28, 2008 |
 The comic/soul duo The Bubblegum Brothers are making a comeback. The pair best known for their 1991 mega-hit "Won't Be Long," one of the anthems of the economic bubble years, appeared together yesterday for the first time in years. Brother Tom (52, photo back right), Brother Korn (52, photo back left) and impersonator Antokino Inoki (35) attended a PR event for the Hollywood movie "Death Race." Brother Korn - real name Kondo Nobuaki - revealed for the first time that he underwent transplant surgery three years ago, receiving a kidney from his wife. The following year Brother Tom was hospitalized following a stroke and both men have been working a lot less since their time in hospital. They say their new single is dedicated to other men who may be facing similar struggles that come with middle age. "Daddy's Party Night" is scheduled for release on December 3. Both men's early careers were a mix of music and comedy and they were a natural fit when they teamed up in 1983, releasing their debut single in 1985. But they only put out a handful of singles over the course of a decade, the last one being "Get Good Get God," the Japanese theme song for the 1994 soccer World Cup. They split up as a duo in 1996 and in recent years have appeared mainly as minor TV celebrities. Tom (Koyanagi Tomu, or Thomas Akiona Akima Jr.) was born on a U.S. military base to a Hawaiian father and Japanese mother. "Death Race," a Paul WS Anderson-directed remake of the 1975 classic "Death Race 2000," opens in Japan on November 29.
• Top art director Kimura Takeo has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for his debut as a full-length feature film director at the ripe old age of 90. Kimura wrote and directed "Yume no Manimani," which is currently in theaters. Kimura joined Nikkatsu Studios in 1941 and has served as art director on over two hundred films, including such modern classics as "Tampopo" (Itami Juzo, 1986) and "Pistol Opera" (Suzuki Seijun, 2001)
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TIFF Draws to a Close | October 27, 2008 |
 The 21st Tokyo International Film Festival came to an end yesterday, with the big winner being the international production "Tulpan" (photo top). The movie, a comedy about a sailor turned shepherd and filmed on the wild steppes of Kazakhstan, was awarded the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix. Jury chairman Jon Voight saying the choice had been unanimous, "We the jurors live in highly complicated and sophisticated worlds, but in this story, this struggling nomad family made us discover our hearts and our identities," Voight said. The Grand Prix brings with it a $100,000 cash award, and the movie also earned the best director prize for Sergei Dvortsevoy in his feature film debut. The awards for best actor and actress went to Vincent Cassel ("Public Enemy No.1") and Felicite Wouassi ("With a Little Help From Myself"). The audience award went to Maeda Tetsu’s "Buta ga Itta Kyoshitsu" (School Days With a Pig, photo bottom), which stars Tsumabuki Satoshi (27). The movie also won the jury award of the newly created Toyota Earth Grand Prix, a prize that emphasizes the event's new green theme, while the main award went to “Ashes From the Sky,” a Spanish eco-comedy. "Buy a Suit," directed by the recently deceased Ichikawa Jun, was recognized in the Japanese Eyes section.
• The feud between rakugoka Shunputei Koasa (53) and talento Yasuha (47) keeps getting nastier. The pair divorced last year but just last week Tasuha unleashed a torrent of insults on her blog, called her ex a "kinpatsu buta yarou!" The phrase translates as "blonde pig" but is much worse in Japanese! When the media ran the story the blog was overwhelmed with traffic and the server crashed. The blog was then officially closed down. But after Yasuha suddenly pulled out of an event yesterday, she sent a fax to the media blaming her ex for threatening to sue her for defamation. She herself is a member of a prominent rakugo family, with her younger brothers being the popular Hayashiya Shozo (45) and Ippei (37). Ippei is to succeed to his late father's stage name Sanpei next spring. Yasuha enthusiastically volunteered to produce the series of events that commemorate such a succession, but has clearly yet to recover from the shock of the job being given to Koasa.
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Hasekyo Marries Porno Guitarist | October 24, 2008 |
 Another big showbiz couple is born - actress Hasegawa Kyoko (30) and Porno Graffitti guitarist Shindo Haruichi (34) announced late last night on their official websites that they got married yesterday. The couple first met in the spring and only started dating in July so management were quick to clarify that "Hasekyo" is not pregnant and plans to continue her acting career. The actress made her announcement in a video, dressed in white and with an all-white room as a background. She spoke of how she and her new husband have stimulated each other artistically and described their meeting as a "miracle." Haruichi proposed earlier this month but the couple made sure to visit each other's parents before taking the big step. They are both still living in their own homes in Tokyo and Haruichi went by himself yesterday to register their marriage at his local municipal office. They have yet to announce their plans for a formal wedding ceremony.
Hasegawa was a pioneer in the sense that she was one of the first fashion magazine models to achieve widespread popularity, and made her TV debut as a presenter on a Fuji TV mixed martial arts show in 1999. Her first acting role was on the same network in 2000. She switched from modeling to acting full time in 2002. Two years later she was the official queen of the TV commercial world, touting products for ten different companies. She had her first starring role in a drama series in TBS's "Oishii Propose" in 2006.
Porno Graffitti are one of Japan's most popular rock bands, made the major label debut as a trio - Shindo, vocalist Okano Akihito and former bassist Tama - in 1999, though their roots go back to their high school days in Hiroshima in the early 90s. They are now, like other "bands" B'z and Love Psychedelico, a two-piece unit who work with support musicians. They had their first of several million-sellers with their fourth single "Saudade" in 2000 and have sold over 12 million singles and albums.
• Veteran comedian Regal Shusai died earlier this month of heart failure at his Tokyo home, it was announced yesterday. He was 81. Real name Takahashi Akira, he started his comedy career in the 1940s and formed the duo Regal Tensai-Shusai in 1952. The duo were one of the more popular acts of the 50s and 60s. Feeling the broadcast media didn't give entertainers enough respect, they announced in 1970 that they would perform only on stage, a decision they reversed ten years later. Regal Tensai (real name Soga Chuichi) died in 2004 and Shusai continued as a solo performer until his health deteriorated at the beginning of this year.
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Kuwata Keisuke's Sister Dies | October 23, 2008 |
 Iwamoto Eriko, the elder sister of Southern All Stars vocalist Kuwata Keisuke (52), died of cancer at a Kanagawa Prefecture hospital last week, it was revealed yesterday. She was 56. Kuwata and his sister were very close - their busy parents ran a cinema and restaurant in their hometown of Chigasaki and Iwamoto helped raise her younger brother. She was a big musical influence on him and though she was never a member of the band, she was well known to fans. The famous hit "Itoshi no Eri" is dedicated to Kuwata's wife and SAS keyboard player Hara Yuko, but is also known to fans as a farewell song to his sister as she left to live overseas. After marriage in 1975, Iwamoto lived for many years in California before returning to Chigasaki with her husband and three children in 1996. Her command of English allowed her to help her brother in his songwriting on such hits as "Naminori Johnny" and "Tasogare Summer Holiday." She first battled breast cancer in 1995 but a recurrence at the beginning of this year was diagnosed as terminal. Last year, some Chigasaki residents tried to get Iwamoto to run for mayor in the seaside town, where she had successful led a campaign against the construction of a high-rise apartment block. Though it was never mentioned in connection with Iwamoto's health, Southern All Stars announced several months ago that they will be taking an indefinite break from performing and recording from the end of this year.
• Actor Mizutani Yutaka (56) announced yesterday that he plans to embark on his first nationwide concert tour in 23 years. Following the May release of his first album in 22 years, fans have been calling for him to tour. That wish is to be granted next summer, while those who can't wait can look forward to the release of a live DVD on December 24. Mizutani had a short but successful singing career in the mid-1980s. This summer he had his first movie role in ten years, co-starring in the hit "Aibo," a big-screen spinoff of the TV Asahi detective series that has run since 2002.
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Toei's Big Year Hit by Falling Stocks | October 22, 2008 |
 Despite having had the major box office hit of the year, the decimated stock market has caused Toei studios to revise its expected increase in annual profits. Miyazaki Hayao's anime feature "Gake no Ue no Ponyo" has made around ¥15 billion, making it the fourth most successful Toei movie of all time. And with other hits such as "Hana yori Danshi Final," boosting earnings to more than ¥207 billion, it was shaping up to be a great year. But the global financial crisis has taken its toll on Toei's stock and net profits are to be revised downward by about ¥1 billion to ¥6.7 billion, a decrease from last year.
• Folk singer Matsuyama Chiharu (52) last night returned to the stage, three months after illness forced him to cut short a concert tour. The singer was diagnosed with angina in June, and yesterday's show in his hometown of Ashorocho, Hokkaido was originally scheduled for July 8. In front of an audience of 1,500 he declared himself fully fit and performed a set of 14 songs.
• Freelance announcer Yamamoto Mona (32) is making a subdued return to work. Kind of. She has been on forced leave since an extra marital affair with baseball star Nioka Tomoharu (32) caused a scandal in July, and hasn't been seen in public since. Yesterday the Bunka Housou radio network said that they plan to re-broadcast an award-winning show next month that features Yamamoto as narrator. The documentary about the WWII battleship Yamato was originally broadcast in January.
• Comedienne Ohshima Miyuki (28) and her husband are to finally hold a traditional shinto wedding ceremony at the revered Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture this weekend. Ohshima and TV writer Suzuki Osamu (36) got married in October 2002.
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Izumi Motoya in Trouble With Law Again | October 21, 2008 |
 Kyogen-shi Izumi Motoya (34) just seems to be a magnet for bad publicity. He recently had another brush with the law, as revealed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police today. Motoya was nabbed for ignoring a traffic signal in the center of the capital in the late afternoon of October 14 and received a ticket. He turned left while the signal was green only for through traffic, and when he was stopped by a motorcycle cop he explained that he was on his way to pick up his children. Motoya was previously arrested and fined in 2005 for failing to pay a parking ticket for more than two years. He's also been in trouble with the tax authorities and has had several run ins with the elders who administer his traditional form of theater. His relationship with his mother, Setsuko, and his shotgun marriage to actress Hano Aki has constantly been a favorite target of the gossip magazines.
• Singer Takeuchi Mariya (53) is the first artist in their 50s or older to stay atop the Oricon album chart for three weeks. Her triple hits album "Expressions" was produced by her husband, singer Yamashita Tatsuro (55), with whom she duets on the track "Let It Be Me." meanwhile Korean stars hold the top two spots on the singles chart. Five-member group Tohoshinki are at No.1 with "Jumon - Mirotic," while Lee Byung Hun (38) is in the second spot with his Japanese song "Itsuka."
• Rockers Motley Crue gave a press conference in Tokyo yesterday ahead of their first Japan tour in three years. The band will play Zepp Fukuoka tonight, then head to Hiroshima (Oct. 22), Nagoya (Oct. 23), Osaka (Oct. 25), and finish off at Saitama Super Arena on Oct. 26.
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Actress Sakai Miki Ties the Knot | October 20, 2008 |
 Actress Sakai Miki (30) looked radiant as she and her doctor husband (34) tied the knot at the Hotel New Otani in central Tokyo yesterday. She wore the traditional shinto wedding kimono and headgear before changing into a white wedding gown, set off by a diamond ring, necklace and tiara. About 260 guests, including actor Ishizaka Koji (67) and actress Daichi Mao (52), attended the wedding reception, which was presided over by freelance announcer Tokumitsu Kazuo (67). Sakai's new hubby is a doctor at a university hospital in Tokyo. His medical colleagues played a comical slide show during the reception describing how he had battled a disease that prevented him from developing an interest in the opposite sex. That is, until he was administered a new breakthrough drug in the form of Sakai. The two met four years ago, when Sakai was doing volunteer work helping organ transplant recipients. They started dating after they met again last summer and got engaged in January. Sakai said at a press conference after the reception that they had registered their marriage yesterday morning at a local municipal office. She added that she wants to have two or three children. Several years ago, Sakai was romantically linked to New York Yankees star Matsui Hideki (profile).
• Also tying the knot at the weekend were Olympic judo gold medalist Inoue Kosei (30) and talento Higashihara Aki (25). Two registered their marriage back in January, but held their ceremony and reception at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo on Saturday. Inoue announced that his wife is three months pregnant, and that the baby may well be born overseas as he plans to head to the U.K. early next year and spend two years studying there.
• In a less celebratory mood was singer Wada Akiko (58, profile), who had a dig at the recent shotgun wedding of singer Leah Dizon (22). On her TBS show "Akko ni Omakase" she said, "She's been studying hard in Japan, but so are lots of other youngsters. She needs to study a bit more about her lower body!" And on the comment by stylist Bun (29) about his new bride being very smart, Akko said, "If she's so smart, she should have been able to date him without getting knocked up!" She also took a swipe at Dizon's management, who refused to let reporters ask her any questions at the press conference where she announced the marriage. "If you're not going to let her talk, there's no point. Don't have a press conference. Newspaper and TV are about the readers and viewers." And she finished off with, "Asked what it was that her husband likes about her, she said 'My Big Peach.' What an idiot!" The comment was a lame pun on the Japanese word momo, which means "peach" and "bottom."
• The 21st Tokyo International Film Festival kicked off on Saturday with the screening of John Woo's Chinese historical epic "Red Cliff, Part 1." Walking the green carpet (in line with TIFF's ecological theme) along with Woo were cast members including Kaneshiro Takashi (35), Tony Leung Chiu-Wai (46), Hollywood star Julianne Moore (47) and a host of local celebrities. Newly elected prime minister Aso Taro (68) lived up to his populist image by being the first premier to walk the TIFF carpet. The biggest movie ever made in Asia, "Red Cliff" is to open on 551 screens across Japan on November 1, beating the record for a historical picture set by "Last Samurai".
• 22 members of Hello! Project are to "graduate" next spring and move to a new management agency. The singers, such as Matsuura Aya (22), Satoda Mai (24) and Abe Natsumi (27), are all veterans of the various groups during the project's 10-year history and they will pursue mostly solo careers as members of "Elder Club." Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo and other groups will continue, and presumably recruit a new wave of young performers.
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Kobayashi Akira Kicked Out of PGA for Yakuza Links | October 18, 2008 |
 Actor and singer Kobayashi Akira (69) has been kicked off the Japanese pro golf tour following his recent partying with an organized crime boss. As reported here earlier this month, Kobayashi and four other top enka singers were revealed to have taken part in a golf event to celebrate the birthday of Goto Tadamasa, a top yakuza gang boss, and attended a party afterwards. The five have already been banned from appearing on public broadcast network NHK, and it seems the media are finally clamping down on the ties between celebrities and gangsters that have been known for decades but rarely mentioned. Kobayashi, a keen golfer for many years, was given an honorary PGA membership and officially became a pro on the senior tour last autumn. He took part in four events, but will not be allowed to do so anymore.
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Brian May Contributes to Memorial Album | October 17, 2008 |
 Queen guitarist Brian May (61) has contributed to a new memorial album of material by the late Honda Minako. Honda died after a very public battle with leukemia on November 6 2005, at the age of 38, and "Eternal Harmony" is due for release on the third anniversary. She and May were friends since 1986, when he wrote the music and lyrics for her song "Golden Days," and after her death he referred to her as "a little angel." Producers of the upcoming album approached the guitarist to see if he would be interested in producing a track and, despite the fact that he is working on an album of his own, he agreed. The track is a remix of her most famous recording, the song "Amazing Grace." It features music and chorus by May, who played the toy koto for the first time since the classic 1975 Queen album "A Night at the Opera." He said of the mix, "I made it as close as possible to acappella, so you can hear every breath, every enunciation."
• This year's ongoing NHK taiga drama series "Atsuhime" is said to have brought economic benefits worth over ¥260 million to the Kagoshima region where much of the story is set. The historical drama stars Miyazaki Aoi and tells the story of a princess in the late Edo Period.
• KAT-TUN member Akanishi Jin (24) and model Nishiyama Maki (22) have been spotted dating recently, according to this week's issue of "Friday" magazine. The Johnny's Jimusho idol singer was seen picking Nishiyama up at her Tokyo apartment and taking her for a night drive. The magazine said that the couple had also been spotted together a steak restaurant last month.
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Nakamura Shido Puts Acting First, Grief Second | October 16, 2008 |
 Kabuki actor Nakamura Shido (36) believes in putting his acting before anything else, but will today take time off to preside over a wake for his late father. Ogawa Mikio died of stomach cancer at his Tokyo home on October 11. He was 79. Nakamura has been appearing in the stage production "Kurobe no Taiyo" in Osaka and wasn't able to be with his father when he passed away. He has continued his twice-daily appearances until today, which was a scheduled day off. In the show, he plays the lead role of legendary actor Ishihara Yujiro and said he was intent on putting everything into the role even if it meant separation from his ailing father. Ogawa was diagnosed with cancer at the end of last year and was in and out of hospital. Nakamura had to deal with that at the same time as a dragged-out divorce from actress Takeuchi Yuko, which finally ended in February. The son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizo, Ogawa was the first to take the stage name of Shido but quit at an early age to become a producer at the Toei movie studio. "Kurobe no Taiyo" is about the filming of the blockbuster movie of the same name in 1968. It is also the title of a Fuji TV drama re-make that stars SMAP (profile) member Katori Shingo (32). Filming started recently and the drama will air next spring as part of Fuji's 50th anniversary celebrations.
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Leah's Latest Lesson in Japanese Showbiz | October 15, 2008 |
 Japan-based American idol singer Leah Dizon (22) revealed on the final night of her concert tour that she got married on October 10. She's also pregnant and will be taking a break from work until after the baby is born, but says she plans to continue her career. her husband is described as a handsome Japanese stylist in his late 20s. Dizon burst onto the Japanese scene early last year after having made the move to build a showbiz career here. Though she has no Japanese blood, she has the fashion model look that has been popular with young women in Japan in recent years, and she put out enough risque photos to keep her growing male fanbase happy. Growing steadily more confident in her Japanese language ability, she launched a pop career in February 2007 and was surprisingly successful. She couldn't contain her emotions when that success earned her an invitation to appear on NHK's annual concert on New Year's Eve. Marriages between showbiz couples are as prone to failure in japan as anywhere, but successful shotgun marriages are particularly rare. Japan Zone gives this particular one two years max.
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Actor Minegishi Toru Dies at 65 | October 13, 2008 |
 Actor Minegishi Toru died on Saturday of lung cancer. He was 65. Born in Tokyo and raised by a mother who ran a Ginza restaurant, he wanted to be an actor in the mould of James Dean and Ishihara Yujiro. Real name Minegishi Tomo, he made his movie debut with the Toei studio in 1962 and changed his stage name several times before settling on Toru in 1975. A popular supporting actor, he appeared in over 60 movies and countless TV drama series. In 1986 he was in the media spotlight following the suicide of young idol singer Okada Yukiko. Just 19 at the time, Okada was said to have had an unrequited love for Minegishi, who said he thought of her more as a younger sister. In recent years, Minegishi developed an interest in triathlons and competed into his 60s. In April of this year, he dropped out of a planned theatrical production citing continual back pain from a hernia. In fact, during tests before his scheduled back surgery, he had been diagnosed with lung cancer in March. It wasn't until July that he revealed that he had been undergoing radiation therapy. He appeared in four movies released this year, the most recent being the critically acclaimed "Okuribito" (Departures), which won the top prize at the Montreal World Film Festival.
• Miura Kazuyoshi, for many years a suspect in the 1981 murder of his wife in Los Angeles, committed suicide yesterday. He was found hanged in his jail cell less than 24 hours after being taken to L.A. to face trial on a charge of conspiracy to murder. The original murder led to several court cases, convictions, jail time and appeals in the U.S. and Japan before the Japanese Supreme Court overturned a previous guilty verdict in 2003. Miura then started something of a showbiz career, appearing on variety shows until he was arrested in Saipan earlier this year.
• Eric Martin (48), front man for the defunct U.S. band Mr. Big, is to release an English cover album of Japanese female vocalists. Tracks include Imai Miki's "Pride" and Hitoto You's "Hanamizuki." Martin says he has mainly been a family man since the split of Mr. Big in 2002, but among his musical projects he has worked with Matsumoto Tak of B'z. And now that his twin sons are four years old, he's decided to re-launch his career. He chose Japan to do it as Mr. Big were always very popular here. Recording of the album took place in San Francisco in August and Tokyo in September. It goes on sale November 26 and Martin will visit Japan earlier in the month. The track "Pride" will be available as a mobile phone download from this week. The concept of the album has already been proven in Japan - the three "Vocalist" albums by Tokunaga Hideaki (47) have sold over three million copies.
• After an absence of 27 years, the Imokin Trio comic band is to reform for one day only. The group, who had a mega-hit with "High School Lullaby" in 1981, were also the core of the hugely popular Fuji TV variety show "Kindon! Yoiko, Waruiko, Futsunoko" (1981-85). To promote the upcoming release of a DVD of the series, the trio will get together for a one-off event at Ikebukuro Sunshine in Tokyo on November 8. The trio are Yamaguchi Ryoichi (53), Nishiyama Koji (47), and Nagae Kenji (44).
• Young singer Aoyama Teruma (20) has teamed up with Dreams Come True (profile) to record a new theme tune for the long-running variety show "Ainori." For the last ten years, the show has followed an ever-changing lineup of young Japanese as they travel around the world in a pink minibus. The aim is to develop a romantic relationship with one of the other travelers, and the show has produced 41 couples over the years. Aoyama's song "Daikkirai, Demo Arigato" is the third ballad to be used on the show. DCT vocalist Yoshida Miwa (43) wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the music with bassist Nakamura Masahito (50).
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Resurgent Giants Could Clinch CL Pennant Tonight | October 10, 2008 |
 The Yomiuri Giants' late-season surge seems to have brought their fans back to life. The team, for decades the most popular in Japan, has seen nothing but declines in its TV audiences for several years even as they won the Central League pennant last year. Not so long ago, Giants games were shown live almost every night of the season, but now they are a rarity on the terrestrial networks. Then in September, the Giants put on their longest winning streak in 19 years and were suddenly serious contenders. Much of the credit goes to Venezuelan slugger Alex Ramirez (photo), who this season broke the record for the most hits in Japan by a foreign player. A win in Wednesday's game against arch rivals the Hanshin Tigers, with Ramirez's 43rd homer giving him the highest tally in the CL, finally put the Giants on top of the CL standings for the first time all season. The teams' rivalry goes back a long way, with the most famous Japanese baseball game ever taking place between them, with the Emperor himself in the stadium, in 1959. Wednesday's game was nowhere near as historical, but NTV's live broadcast pulled in a 15.8% audience rating. That's the highest for a Giants regular season game in almost three seasons. Despite the fact that the Giants can clinch the pennant with a win tonight against the Yakult Swallows, Fuji TV only plan to show the game live on their satellite and cable channels. Even if the Giants do manage to defend the CL pennant, as they did last year, they still have to negotiate the playoffs before getting a chance to win the first Japan Series since 2002. Last year's Japan Series champs the Chunichi Dragons have clinched the third CL playoff spot.
• J-Leaguer Nagai Shunta (26) and talento Shiraishi Chiyo (23) announced yesterday that they got married on Tuesday. The Kashiwa Reysol midfielder broke the news on his club's website, while Shiraishi let fans know via her blog. The couple registered their marriage together at the Kashiwa municipal office.
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NHK Bans Enka Singers for Partying With Yakuza | October 09, 2008 |
 Public broadcasting network NHK announced yesterday that they have banned several popular singers from TV appearances after they were found to have associated with a known yakuza gang boss. According to this week's issue of the "Shukan Shincho" magazine, the five enka singers - Hosokawa Takashi (58, photo), Kobayashi Akira (69), Matsubara Nobue (47), Kadokawa Hiroshi (54) and Nakajou Kiyoshi (62) - took part in a golf competition in Shizuoka Prefecture to celebrate the birthday of a Yamaguchi-gumi "kumi-cho" (gang boss) in mid-September. Apart from Nakajou, the singers also attended a party after the competition. After the story was published, NHK contacted the management agencies of the singers, who each confirmed that the story was true. The network then consulted with the agencies and record companies about how best to deal with the issue. NHK has already announced that it is looking for replacement artists for the December 13 show "BS Nihon no Uta." An official said they have yet to decide on whether to allow the singers to take their usual place on stage at the annual "Kohaku Uta Gassen" live concert on New Year's Eve. A statement said, "It was decided that it is not proper for a public network to be associated with an organization that stands in contravention to the public good." In a related development, TV Tokyo announced that scenes featuring Hosokawa would be cut from a music show scheduled for October 13. Links between showbiz and the yakuza are not uncommon, though rarely made public, and the old-fashioned image of many male enka singers is not far from that worn by top gangsters who cast themselves as modern-day samurai.
 According to Jake Adelstein, a former police reporter who has also written for Shukan Shincho and does consultation work for foreign firms in Japan, the kumi-cho in question is Goto Tadamasa (photo left, courtesy of japansubculture.com), head of the Goto-gumi, a Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime group with over nine hundred and fifty members. Goto is considered to be the wealthiest and second most powerful boss in the Yamaguchi-gumi, which with 40,000 members (National Police Agency [NPA] figures) is the largest organized crime group in Japan. He also obtained a liver transplant at UCLA in 2001, after making a deal with the FBI to share information in exchange for a visa.
Goto's connections to the entertainment industry are well-known. In 2007, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department accidentally leaked onto a file sharing network a list of Goto-gumi's front companies. Included in the list was Burning Productions, one of Japan's biggest talent agencies and production companies. In December 2007, the NPA and the Organized Crime Control Bureau Section Three of the TMPD asked the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters to cease and desist relationships with organized crime members and affiliated entities. Burning Productions was not listed in the letter that was sent to the association but detectives in the TMPD assert that this was understood.
"NHK's ban on singers who have associations with organized crime members represents a major change in the Japanese public's attitude toward organized crime. NHK is a quasi-public entity, and the decision may also reflect the Japanese government taking more of a non-tolerance policy towards the yakuza and those that associate with them," says Adelstein. Adelstein has posted an English translation of a NPA file which discusses Goto's entertainment industry connections, on japansubculture.com.
• Rock band X Japan are said to be negotiating with Chinese authorities to hold a concert at the Olympic stadium in Beijing next spring. Once details have been finalized, leader Yoshiki plans to visit Beijing and hold a press conference. The so-called "Bird's Nest" stadium can hold up to 80,000 people, which would make it the biggest concert ever for the band.
• NTV announcer Suzue Nana (28) and an advertising company employee (30) got married on Tuesday, the network said yesterday. The two have been friends since university and had dated for about a year and a half. Suzue is a regular on several shows, including "News Zero" and "Nihonshi Suspense Gekijo."
• Actor Yagami Ren (22) was recently spotted spending the night a tthe Tokyo apartment of talento Ono Mayumi (27), according to this week's issue of "Friday" magazine. The two are thought to have been dating since they appeared together in the April drama "Tokyo Ghost Trip." Yagami is also a member of the pop group PureBOYS.
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Japan Grieves for Ogata Ken | October 08, 2008 |
 Condolences poured in from all over the Japanese show business world following the recent death of actor Ogata Ken at the age of 71 (earlier story). A small and private Buddhist funeral was held yesterday in Tokyo. His sons Kanta (photo right) and Naoto (photo right) gave a brief press conference afterwards and spoke of their father as an "immeasurably huge presence" in their lives, a man who was both "cool and warm." They revealed that their father had been battling liver cancer for five years, though his continued dedication to his craft and busy schedule meant that few people outside his family knew of it. Even actor Tsugawa Masahiko (68), a close friend of almost 40 years, was shocked to learn of the cancer and rushed to his friend's bedside. Ogata was hospitalized on October 4 when his condition suddenly deteriorated following a ruptured liver. He spent his last few hours with his family and Tsugawa, who described the closing act of his friend's life: "For the last ten minutes he glared into space like a kabuki actor, as his breath grew shallower. He fought right to the end, gave everything he had. It was a wonderful end, worthy of a great star." Ogata's sons said their mother Norie (71) was still distraught and had cried constantly for the last three days. Ogata had been working in his last few weeks, and attended a post-production event for a recently finished Fuji TV drama series on September 30. Producer Nakamura Toshio said he had no idea Ogata's illness and above all remembered his warm smile.
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Ogata Ken Dies at 71 | October 07, 2008 |
 Veteran actor Ogata Ken died on Sunday, it was revealed yesterday. He was 71. He was widely regarded as one of Japan's finest actors, whose dedication to his craft brought out the best in younger cast members. Real name Ogata Akinobu, the Tokyo native joined the now defunct Shinkokugeki theater group in 1958 and studied under Tatsumi Ryutaro (1905-89). He later married fellow member Takakura Norie and their two sons, Kanta and Naoto, are both actors. Ogata achieved fame on TV when he played the lead role of medieval warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1965 NHK taiga drama series "Taikouki." In 1972-73 he played the lead role of a ninja assassin in the TBS period drama series "Hissatsu Shikakenin," which led to many other "Hissatsu" spinoffs. A unique and versatile actor, he appeared in countless TV series and more than 60 movies. The best known of Ogata's films include Nomura Yoshitaro's "Kichiku," Imamura Shohei's "Narayama Bushiko" (The Ballad of Narayama, 1983) and the 2006 Yamada Yoji samurai drama "Bushi no Ichibun" (Love and Honor). Not only a star of Japanese cinema he also appeared in several overseas productions, including Paul Schrader's "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" (1985) and Peter Greenaway's "The Pillow Book" (1996). Recent projects included the Japanese dub of "The Golden Compass" and last year's manga adaptation "Gegege no Kitaro - Sennen Noroiuta". He will appear in the Fuji TV drama series "Kaze no Garden," which airs from October 9, and he attended a post-production event for the series at the end of September. Co-star Nakai Kiichi said of filming the final scene together, "It left me exhausted and feint, but Ogata-san put so much into it he couldn't even stand."
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Police Find Kase Taishu's Drug Stash | October 06, 2008 |
 Actor Kase Taishu (38) has been arrested on drug charges. Acting on a tip, police visited his Tokyo apartment on Saturday evening. They found amphetamines in an envelope on his living room table and marijuana in the bedroom, as well as various drug paraphernalia. They also found 25 marijuana plants growing in a closet. Urine tests were positive for amphetamines and the actor was arrested for possession and use. Kase, real name Kawamoto Nobuhiro, made his movie debut in 1990 when he starred in the hit movie "Inamura Jane" and with his good looks soon had a legion of female fans. But the following year he was caught up in a legal dispute when he tried to change management, with his former agency claiming ownership of his stage name. Kase finally won the case at the Tokyo High Court in 1995, but his reputation was in ruins. He finally moved to Taiwan, where he established himself as an actor. He married in April 2000 but almost immediately afterwards it was revealed that he had fathered a child with another woman, and his marriage ended in December 2001. He has recently been appearing in the TBS afternoon drama series "Kippari!!" TBS immediately canceled the ongoing second season of the show, which was struggling in the ratings anyway, and are to rerun last year's series.
• It was announced this morning that the latest big screen anime version of "Evangelion" is to be released in the early summer of 2009. The September 2007 release "Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Jo" (New Theatrical Version: Beginning) was the first of a series of four movies to be directed by Anno Hideaki. The second episode, which features an appearance by popular character Asuka Langley Soryu, is entitled "Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Ha" (New Theatrical Version: Destruction). The Evangelion franchise was born as a manga in 1995 and has become hugely popular, with a multitude of spinoffs in various media. The first three of the latest movie series are a retelling of the TV series and feature new scenes, characters, and more advanced CG technology. The fourth film will present a totally new ending to the story. The series is also meant to be more accessible to movie fans who are not familiar with the complex world of Evangelion.
• Hollywood actor Watanabe Ken (48, profile) is to take on his first Japanese TV drama role in two years. For the TV Asahi series "Hiratsuka Hachibe no Showa Jikenshi" he will play the real-life detective Hiratsuka, who was involved in many of the high-profile crime cases of the postwar period. The series is to air next year as part of the TV network's 50th anniversary plans, though specific dates have yet to be announced. Based in Los Angeles, Watanabe has spent the last year and a half working on the movies "Cirque Du Freak" and "Shanghai."
• Actress Sada Mayumi (31) got married on October 1, her management agency announced on Saturday. Her husband is said to be 35 and not in showbiz. Sada was previously involved with Hiro (39), leader of the J-pop group Exile and president of her agency. They split up last year and this March she was linked with Kiriya Kazuaki (40), the ex-husband of singer Utada Hikaru (25). Sada started her modeling career at the age of three and crossed over to acting in 2004. She has roles in two upcoming movies: the Ayase Haruka vehicle "Ichi" later this month, and the comedy "Handsome Suit" in November.
• Singer Ohshima Hanako (34) is pregnant with her first child, she revealed on a regular radio appearance on Sunday. She says she plans to continue working until a scheduled concert at the end of December, and the baby is due in March. Ohshima is the daughter of legendary singer Sakamoto Kyu, the only Japanese to have a No.1 hit in the U.S. She married the owner of a Brazilian jujitsu dojo in 2006.
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Sad End for Top Korean Actress | October 03, 2008 |
 Top Korean actress and the ex-wife of former Yomiuri Giants pitcher Cho Sung-min (35), Choi Jin-sil (39) killed herself earlier this week. Her body was found hanging by the neck in the shower of her Seoul apartment, and although no note was found police are treating it as a suicide. Known as the "Nation's Actress," Choi married Cho in 2000 and they had two children before splitting in 2002. Choi resumed her acting career after their divorce was finalized in 2004. Emotionally weakened since that experience, she was often described as depressed and even expressed suicidal tendencies. Recently there were widespread rumors that she had lent money to actor and longtime friend Ahn Jae-hwan, who was found dead in his car in early September. Choi's mother told police that the actress had come home home drunk late on Wednesday night, crying and upset by the rumors. Her mother woke the next morning to find the bathroom door locked and called for help.
• Actor Hamada Manabu (32) is getting married this weekend, it was revealed yesterday. He and his fiancee, described as "A-san" and a nurse in her 20s, met five years ago at a restaurant run by a mutual friend. They plan to tie the knot on October 5 and are already living together in Tokyo. Hamada, the son of actor Hamada Akira (66), had his first TV drama starring role in 1997. This year he starred in the movie "Kagehinata ni Saku," based on a novel by comedian Gekidan Hitori, and took to the stage for the first time.
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Kiyohara Kazuhiro Calls it a Day | October 02, 2008 |
 One of Japan's most popular baseball stars brought his career to an end last night. Slugger Kiyohara Kazuhiro (41) played his final game for the Orix Buffaloes and gave a tearful farewell speech during a ceremony after the game. A star of the Seibu Lions during their 1990s reign, Kiyohara was already a star before he joined pro baseball. He and ace pitcher Kuwata Masumi were the legendary high school baseball pair known as the "K-K Combi." They took PL Gakuen high school to the final of the annual Koshien tournament four years running, winning twice. Kiyohara had hoped they would play together for the Yomiuri Giants, but in the draft only Kuwata ended up on Japan's most popular team. Kiyohara was signed by the Lions in the rival Pacific League, where he lived up to his huge potential for a decade. His talent and good looks won him many fans of both sexes, and he said that the only reason he became a pro baseball player was to attract beautiful women and afford fast cars. He became a free agent in 1997 and was reunited with Kuwata on the Giants. But plagued by injuries, he put on weight and, with his perennial tan and piercings, began to look more like a gangster than a sports idol. He spent eight declining years with the equally declining Giants before moving to the Buffaloes in 2006. With many celebrity friends, it's likely that he'll move to showbiz rather than get into coaching or management.
• Veteran actor Takarada Akira (74) was caught speeding on a Tokyo expressway during the summer, it was revealed yesterday. He was doing 124km/h on the 80km/h Metropolitan Expressway on the afternoon of July 29 when his license plate and face were recorded by a speed camera. He appeared at a police station on September 29.
• Actress Hirayama Aya (24) has dropped out of her scheduled first theater role due to acute pharyngitis. She was due to appear from October 8 in a stage production of "Bentler, Bentler, Bentler." The show was written by Goto Hirohito, whose "Midsummer Carol" was the basis for the currently showing fantasy movie "Paco to Maho no Ehon," and it is being performed by his theatrical troupe, Piper. Hirayama's guest role will be played by actress Suzuki Ranran (33).
• Actor Masi Oka (33) was back in Japan yesterday to promote the movie "Get Smart." His breakthrough in the U.S. drama series "Heroes" has made him a big name there. But at home he still gets starstruck and was visibly excited about the prospect of appearing with comedy duo Ninety Nine (profile) on the "All Night Nippon" show late last night.
• Upcoming British singer Duffy (24) played her first show in Japan yesterday. She performed for 900 fans at the Ebisu Liquid Room in Tokyo in support of her debut album "Rockferry."
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A Dream Come True for Wada Akiko | October 01, 2008 |
 It was a dream come true for veteran singer Wada Akiko (58, profile), who celebrated her 40th anniversary in showbiz with her first ever overseas concert on Monday night. She performed at the Apollo Theater in New York, a mecca for the soul and R&B music that has long inspired her. For the "one night only" show, and the venue's first ever by a solo Asian performer, "Akko" was joined on stage by Sam Moore of the duo Sam and Dave (72) for a rendition of "Soul Man." The two have been friends since they performed together on a Japanese TV show all of 38 years ago. But no doubt the person she would have dreamed of performing there with was the late Ray Charles, her showbiz idol, who performed with her for her 30th anniversary show. The audience of 1,450 people included a tour group of 50 Wada fans who had traveled from Japan for the show. Wada visited the theater four years ago and made sure to touch the famous 'Tree of Hope' for luck, in the hope of one day appearing on the stage. The so-called "Godsister" of Japanese showbiz was a bundle of nerves for the five days she spent in New York before the concert. A renowned heavy smoker, she cut down on her 2-3 packs a day - and also her drinking - to get in shape for the show. But at the end of the show, she said she was heading out to have a wild night.
• The spat between X Japan's Yoshiki and the Sumo Association continues. According to Yoshiki's management, the association sent him a half-hearted apology late Monday night but insisted that Sunday's incident was not their responsibility. They said he should seek his apology from the Kiriyama stable to which yokozuna Hakuho belongs. In turn, Yoshiki said he was no longer concerned about himself but suggested that, in the interests of sumo and its future, the association should apologize to Hakuho. He posted the comment on his mobile fan site, which led to a server crash on the Kiriyama stables website.
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