Monthly Archives: February 2005

Enka singer Mori Masako (photo, 46) collapsed at her Shibuya, Tokyo home on Tuesday night and was rushed to hospital. Doctors gave a press conference and said she was suffering from cerebral anemia and insomnia. She had taken a number of hormonal pills for the treatment of menopause shortly before she collapsed. She was found by her 15-year old son, who called his father. Her husband, enka singer Mori Shinichi (57), spoke to the media yesterday and flatly denied that it had been a suicide attempt. &$149; Singer Utada Hikaru (21) announced on her web site that she will invite some Japanese fans to a PR live event in New York on February 23. Five pairs will be chosen by lottery from her site’s mailing list to spend three nights in NYC. She is hoping to put some momentum back into her launch into the US market, where her October 2004 debut “Exodus” failed to make an impression.

Actress Miyazawa Rie (31) has added another award to her already impressive collection. At the Blue Ribbon Awards, voted by reporters for several Tokyo newspapers, she was chosen as best actress. She won for her role in “Chichi to Kuraseba” (Living With Father), set in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing. The best actor award went to Terao Akira (57) for his performance in “Hanochi,” a movie based on a bestseller about a man who murders his wife. Terao worked several times with the legendary Kurosawa Akira. “Dare mo Shiranai” (Nobody Knows) was selected as best picture, and also received an award for director Koreeda Hirokazu.

• Minorikawa Tadao, father of TV celebrity Mino Monta, (60) died Tuesday of pneumonia at a hospital in Kanagawa prefecture. He was 90. Mino is one of the most popular emcees on Japanese TV.

Some of Japan’s best acting talent has been lined up for the new Hollywood movie “Sayuri,” a dramatization of Arthur Golden’s bestseller “Memoirs of a Geisha.” Directed by Rob Marshall (44) and produced by Steven Spielberg (57), the movies includes stars such as Watanabe Ken (45), Yakusho Koji (49) and Kudo Yuki (34). All were on hand at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo on Monday for a press conference. The title role will be played by Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi (25).

• Manga writer Chusonji Yutsuko died Monday of colon cancer at a Yokohama hospital. She was 42. She became famous during the bubble economy in the late 1980s for her manga featuring the “oyaji gal” phenomenon – young women who enjoyed pursuits, such as golf and pachinko, that were considered the reserve of midle-aged men.

The big news story of the week has been the arrest of young kabuki actor Nakamura Shichinosuke (21), son of Nakamura Kankuro (49), one of the biggest names in kabuki. Early on Sunday morning, a drunken Shichinosuke refused to pay an ¥8,000 taxi fare near his home in Tokyo’s Bunkyo ward and the driver reported him to the nearby koban (police box). After a chase of several hundred meters he was caught by a police officer. The young actor punched him, breaking his glasses, and was arrested on the spot. It wasn’t until he was taken to the koban that he realized what he had done. A very forlorn looking Nakamura appeared at a televised press conference yesterday to apologize after he had been released on probation. “I have muddied my father’s reputation and I am deeply sorry,” he said. “it has been said that my father spoiled me, but this is entirely my own doing.” He is to be confined to his home for the rest of this month. On Saturday night he had attended a party to mark the beginning of events to commemorate his father taking the stage name Nakamura Kanzaburo in March. His father also gave a press conference and apologized profusely. His succession to become the 18th Kanzaburo is a big event in the traditional theater world. The first official commemorative event was to have started today, but has been cancelled.

• Iida Kaori (23), the second leader of Morning Musume, has officially left the group. ‘Kaorin’s sotsugyo (graduation) took place at the Yokohama Arena, where Momus finished their latest tour. Yaguchi Mari (22) will take over the leadership role.