Monthly Archives: September 2004

Glamor queen Kano Mika (35) was an ideal choice to garner publicity for a new Picasso exhibition titled “Picasso, Body and Eros.” One half of the high-living and always scantily clad Kano sisters, Mika appeared at the opening event clad in a low-cut tube dress. The exhibition is being held at the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art until December 12.

• The ongoing saga of Japanese pro yakyu (baseball) continues, with the players deciding to stage their first ever strike today and tomorrow. The strike is in protest over plans to merge two teams in the less popular Pacific League, the Kintestsu Buffaloes and the Orix Blue Wave. Japan Professional Baseball Players Association (JPBPA) members and officials of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) organization held talks at a Tokyo hotel Friday but failed to reach an agreement. TV and radio stations have been scrambling to find programs to replace live game broadcasts.

Pop/soul singer Misia (26) has been given the job of singing the theme song for the big autumn movie, “Umineko” (Sea Cat). The ballad “Fuyu no Etrange” marks the movie track debut for writer Takuro (33) of the rock group Glay. The movie is set in 1980s Hakodate in Hokkaido, where Glay hail from. The promo video featuring the song focuses on love scenes with stars Itoh Misaki (photo, 27), one of the most visible faces on TV commercials over the last year, and Nakamura Toru (39). The man at the helm for the movie is Morita Yoshimitsu, whose last project was 1997’s hit “Shitsurakuen” (Paradise Lost), a middle-aged romance that included graphic love scenes and made a star of Kuroki Hitomi. Umizaru is scheduled for release on November 13.

Utada Hikaru (21) is to appear in the commercials for Nintendo’s new game console Nintendo DS. The commercial, which will air from Saturday, features her new single Easy Breezy and shows Utada in a white space and wearing a red dress, as she fearfully approaches the new machine.

• Oda Yuji (36) and Yada Akiko (25) have arrived in New Zealand to shoot the new Fuji TV romantic comedy series “Last Christmas.” Given the seasonal setting, filming is being done in the southern hemisphere. The series will start on October 11 and marks Oda’s long-awaited return to the “golden time” slot. He became a huge star after the success of “Tokyo Love Story” in 1991.

Barcelona Olympic silver-medal gymnast Iketani Yukio (33) has divorced again. His second marriage – his wife Kumiko is 12 years older – is said to have come to an end in mid August. The couple ran a sports club that made ful use of the former athlete’s name value, and it’s unclear how that business will be affected. Iketani retired from sports after his Olympic success and finished his studies at university. The following year he became an all-round TV personality and developed something of a reputation as a ladies’ man. In 1997 he married a former member of the GiriGiri Girls glamour quartet and they had a child. But in 1999 he was caught having an affair and his marriage was over. The cause of his latest breakup is not known but is suspected to be of a similar nature.

“Mickey,” the Japanese cover of the 80s Toni Basil hit by comedy character Gorie, has gone straight to the top of the Oricon singles chart. Regularly featured on the Fuji TV comedy show One Night Rock & Roll, the up-tempo tune features an all-singing, all-dancing routine with Gorie at the front of the line. Only, Gorie is played by the hirsute Gori of the comedy duo Garage Sale. The “gap” between his normal persona and the character that has become a trendsetter for garish high school girls across Japan lies at the heart of the appeal. Gori may be swarthy and have spiky hair, but he also has a real knack for developing unique and hilarious characters.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” didn’t quite manage to win the big prize at the Venice International Film Festival. The Golden Lion award went to Mike Leigh’s “Vera Drake” but insiders said that Miyazaki Hayao’s latest animated feature was in the running till the end, and his Studio Ghibli received the Osella Award for technical achievement. The final grand prix decision came down to two European and two Asian features (including Spain’s “The Sea Within” and Korea’s “Bin Jip”). The jury, led by British director John Boorman, commented that the decision had been very difficult. ”Howl’s Moving Castle” is based on a children’s book of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones. The movie, set in a world of science and witchcraft, describes the romance between a sorcerer named Howl and an 18-year-old girl, Sophie, who is turned into a 90-year-old crone under a spell on the eve of war. The film will be released here November 20.

Nakajima Tadayuki (31) of the up and coming manzai duo Cunning (it means “cheating on a test” in Japanese) has become a father. His wife Manami had a baby boy in a Chiba hospital yesterday. The couple married in April of this year.

• Morning Musume member Fujimoto Miki (photo, 19) has taken a break from their nationwide concert tour due to her medical condition. “Mikiti” was diagnosed with acute pharyngitis and a middle-ear infection after a concert in Fukuoka on September 4. She is now resting at her home in Tokyo.

• Also not in the best of health is veteran actress Iwashita Shima (63). She has stepped down from her starring role alongside Sakaguchi Kenji (28) in the upcoming Fuji TV drama series “Mother and Lover” due to complications with gallstones, which she has suffered from for 25 years. her role will be taken over by Matsuzaka Keiko (52).

It was revealed yesterday by the weekly magazine Friday that comedian Kato Cha (61) and his wife Suzuko (43) divorced in March of last year. Kato is expected to talk to the media about the break up after a performance in Nagoya today. Suzuko has custody of their children, two boys and a girl. Kato has been involved in affairs at least twice during their sixteen years of marriage. In 1993, at the age of 50, he was caught with an 18-year old model. His wife turned a blind eye at the time but threatened divorce when he was caught with the same woman two years later. He swore he would break up the affair and it was enerally believed that he had reformed. Cha became a household name in the 1960s as a member of The Drifters, Japan’s all-time favorite comedy troupe. In recent years he has been a regular on stage and TV variety shows and commercials.

• Meanwhile the divorce case between actor Watanabe Ken (44) and his wife Yumiko (44) is to go on. The Tokyo district court recognized Watanabe’s divorce petition on the grounds that his wife had sunk them heavily into debt. But her lawyers were unhappy with the ruling and say they will appeal to the High Court. Watanabe’s lawyers said that he was disappointed that custody of their daughter Ann (18) had not been awarded to him. He is currently in Hollywood filming “Sayuri” (based on the best-seller “Memoirs of a Geisha”).

Actor and singer Oda Yuji (36) is to make a long-awaited return to the TV serial drama. he will star in the Fuji TV series “Last Christmas,” naturally enough a romantic comedy. The series will air in the “golden time” of 9pm on Mondays, and is Oda’s first starring role in that time slot in 13 years. Oda became a household name on the strength of the hugely popular romantic series “Tokyo Love Story” in 1991, starring alongside Suzuki Honami. While not the world’s best vocalist, he is popular enough as a singer to also get the job of performing the theme song and opening title tune for the new series, covers of the Wham! hits “Last Christmas” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-go.” The tunes will be produced by U.S. hitmaker Butch Walker, who recently worked with Avril Lavigne.

Comedian Hayashi Nobuyuki (34) of the duo Sakamichi Columbus has been arrested for molesting a junior high school student in Kyoto. The second-tier manzai duo are with the major HoriPro talent agency, who issued a statement saying they were looking into the case. “If it’s true, it’s unforgiveable.” But they declined to comment on whether the duo would be broken up. Hayashi and Matsuoka Shingo (34) formed Sakamichi Corocoro in 1998 and changed the name in 2001.

• Actress and model Koyuki (photo, 27) has refused to comment on rumors of a romance with popular actor Sakaguchi Kenji (28). The two are reported to have taken a trip to Bali together in August. Koyuki starred in the hit movie The Last Samurai.