Monthly Archives: May 2003

The hottest rising star at the moment goes by the name Hanawa (photo, 26) and calls himself the world’s first bass-playing stand-up comic. Until recently, he was best known for his uncanny impersonations of baseball player Matsui Hideki. But his debut CD has caught the popular imagination, in particular the first single “Saga Ken”, which parodies his roots in the rural Saga Prefecture.

• Actress Yasuda Narumi (37), wife of comedian Kinashi Noritake (41) of the comedy duo Tunnels, has had a baby girl, their third child.

The wedding of comedian Tanaka Naoki (photo, 32) and his “Miracle Type” co-star Kohinata Shie (23) has been confirmed. Tanaka gave a press conference to announce that the couple plan to marry at the end of June or beginning of July. The other half of the manzai duo Cocorico, Endo Shozo (31), married at the end of last year and recently became a father.

• Said to be not far behind is another comedian, Tamura Ryo (31), the blonde half of the duo London Boots. He is said to be very seriously involved with a 29-year Kansai native.

• A magazine report that actress Okina Megumi (23) and Fujita Susumu (30), president of IT company Cyber Agent, are planning an August wedding has been denied.

• A survey of the most influential smokers in showbiz put Kimura Takuya (31) in the top spot yet again, with the most people saying that if he quit, they would too. Next were motor-mouth comedian Akashiya Sanma and “god-sister” Wada Akiko. The survey was done to coincide with tomorrow’s World No Smoking Day.

Morohoshi Kazumi (32) is relaunching his pop career. A former member of the hugely popular 80s idol group Hikaru Genji (SMAP were their backing group), “Ka-kun” enjoyed all the trappings of super stardom at an early age. But after the group broke up, things went downhill. He went to New York two years ago to try to “find himself,” going to school and working as a waiter in Chinese restaurant. Now he’s back with his first new album in ten years.

• In its latest move to reinvent how pop groups are formed, this summer’s reshuffle of the Hello! Project idol factory will see the formation of three new units. Salt5, 7Air and 11Water will be made up of members of Morning Musume, Country Musume and other groups, all under the watchful eye of producer Tsunku (34). He explained the group names by saying that salt, air and water are the three elements necessary for human life. I could live without this crass commercialism, but what do I know?

Writer Nakajima Ramo (51) was given a suspended 10-month sentence at the Osaka District Court for marijuana possession. The judge focused on the fact that Nakajima’s actions have influence on his readers, but conceded that he had promised to regain their confidence with his work. The author was characteristically blase after the trial, saying that marijuana is a “peaceful drug, like tea or coffee” and giving the judge 85 marks out of 100. The media asked whether he was showing the requisite “hansei,” or remorse that plaintiffs in Japan are expected to display. Nakajima won the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for new writers with his novel “Tonight, in Every Bar” and he has often written about his addiction to alcohol and drugs.

Tanaka Naoki (photo right, 32) of the comedy duo Cocorico and his co-star on the Wednesday night show “Cocorico Miracle Type” Kohinata Shie (23) are said to be on the verge of tying the knot. Tanaka’s sidekick Endo Shozo (31) married fellow Yoshimoto “talento” Chiaki (31) last July and the couple recently had a baby.

• Kuwata Keisuke (46) is to get his band, Southern All Stars back into gear after a hugely successful couple of years of solo work. The band, celebrating their 25th year in the business, will play on a 27-hour telethon at the end of June.

Hip hop group Rip Slyme were the big winners at the MTV Music Video Awards Japan last night, taking the Best Video and two other trophies. Just over two years since making their major label debut, the five-man unit also took the Best Hip Hop and Best Group video awards. On hand to give Amuro Namie (photo, 25) an award for Best Collaborative Video was Hollywood star Keanu Reeves (38), in town to promote the upcoming Matrix Reloaded. Amuro performed with hip hop group Zeebra and others in a one-time only unit called Sweet Chic.

Some big names are currently visiting Japan. Rap star Eminem (photo) finished a short tour with a gig at the Makuhari Messe exhibition center in Chiba Prefecture. It’s his first visit to Japan and needless to say, shows sold out and were packed to the girders. A few years past their best but still going strong are Hall & Oates, on the 13th Japan tour to promote their first new album in six years. They played last night to 5,000 people at the Tokyo International Forum. And Keanu Reeves is here with several others from the cast of Matrix Reloaded. He will also be a guest presenter at the MTV Music Video Awards show tonight.

Pop group SMAP, member Kimura Takuya (photo, 31) and J-Pop diva Hamasaki Ayumi (25) have topped the poll of favorite TV commercial stars for 2002. In the overall ranking, SMAP were No.1, followed by Kimutaku and Ayu. Three other SMAPers made the Top Ten. Kimutaku topped the male star list for the fourth year in a row. The next three spots were also filled by SMAP while in fifth spot was Shimizu Shogo, who plays the chihuahua-loving Dad in the Aifuru ads. Ayu was top of the female poll, followed by scatty actress Kiki Kirin from the Fujicolor series, Honda Ayako, Matsushima Nanako and Tanaka Reina.

The &yen300 million Meguro Ward home of enka singer Matsubara Nobue (41) has been seized due to outstanding tax liabilities. Matsubara gave a tearful press conference yesterday at the office of Columbia Records in Tokyo. Ironically, it was also the release date for her new single. It sems that the seizure stems from financial problems caused by her husband, who is also her business manager. The couple married in 1992 and bought the house two years later. They are still repaying a mortgage on the property. The husband, currently studying Chinese in the city of Dalian, is said to have an extravagant love for cars.

• Nakajima Miyuki’s hit “Chijo no Hoshi” is in the charts at No. 46 this week. Nothing remarkable in that, except it’s the 148th straight week that the single has stayed in the Oricon Top 100. This breaks the 23 year-old record held by Sugiyoshi Taro’s “Sukima Kaze.”

“Gege”, a novel written by popular singer/songwriter Sada Masashi (51), is to be made into a movie. The poignant love story centers around a school teacher gradually losing his eyesight and the people he meets on returning to his hometown of Nagasaki. The movie is to star Ozawa Takao (35) and Ishida Yuriko (33). The book was published last December and has sold about 70,000 copies. Sada is known for his bitter-sweet ballads.