Monthly Archives: January 2007

For the first time ever, a classical recording is top of the Oricon singles chart. “Sen no Kaze ni Natte”, by tenor Akikawa Masafumi (39), was released in June of last year but got a huge sales boost from his appearance on NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year’s Eve. The song is based on an English poem of bereavement, that opens with the lines “Do not stand by my grave and weep, for I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond’s glint on snow.” A different version of the song sung by Arai Michiru, who wrote the lyrics and music for Akikawa’s hit, has also made the charts. Meanwhile, taking up the No.2 and No.3 spots in the chart are new releases from 28-year veterans Chage & Aska. Chage takes the vocal lead on “Here & There”, while Aska is the frontman for “Man & Woman”.

• The 10-year-old daughter of talento Kazami Shingo (44, real name Ohshita Yoshihiro) was killed yesterday morning by a truck on her way to school. The accident happened when Oshita Emiru was walking to school in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward shortly after 8am. She was crossing a road just 130m from her home when a 3-ton truck turned into the raod and hit her. She suffered a fractured skull and was accompanied by her father to hospital, where she died later in the morning. The 22-year-old truck driver was arrested for professional negligent homicide. Kazami and his wife Naoko, a former Miss Japan, married in 1994. They had a second daughter in 2003. The family only last month suffered the death of Naoko’s younger brother.

• Comedienne Daita Hikaru (31) is getting divorced after just a year of marriage. She and writer Kitamoto Katsura (30) got married on January 16 2006, and Kitamoto wrote of their plans to split on his blog yesterday, a year and a day later. He didn’t state the specific reason, but it is widely believed to be Daita’s rumored extra-marital affair.

Clint Eastwood’s intense Japanese WWII drama “Letters From Iwo Jima” beat a strong field to win the Golden Globe for best foreign language film. It’s the first time a Japanese-language movie has taken the award since Ichikawa Kon’s “Kagi” in 1959, the year that “Letters…” star Watanabe Ken (47) was born. He was in Hollywood for the award show with his wife, actress Minami Kaho (42). The movie is now a strong contender for an Oscar next month, though as a Hollywood production it will first need to be nominated for Best Picture. Meanwhile, actress Kikuchi Rinko (26) failed to see her role in “Babel” earn her the best supporting actress award, which went to Jennifer Hudson (25) for “Dreamgirls”. (I don’t think she helped her chances with the ridiculous dress she wore!) But Kikuchi did have the consolation of seeing Babel take the prize for best film and sharing the joy with co-star Angelina Jolie (31). And she is still in with a chance of being the first Japanese actress since Miyoshi “Nancy” Umeki in 1957 to win an Oscar.

• Popular actor Tanihara Shousuke (34) gave a press conference yesterday to announce his engagement to former talento Miyake Emi (29). The couple performed together on the 2001 Fuji TV drama “Kyuumeibyoutou 24-ji”, though romance for both of them lay elsewhere. Miyake was pregnant when she married actor Ishida Issei (32) in 2003, and they divorced in January 2006. She is also two months pregnant this time, so Tanihara is getting two kids as well as a wife. He was linked with Othello comedienne Nakajima Tomoko (35) in 2004, but they split the following year. He is currently appearing in two drama series, including this year’s taiga on NHK, and is a presenter on the TBS Saturday morning show “O-sama no Brunch”.

• Yomiuri TV is expecting an audience rating of over 30% for their planned live broadcast of the wedding reception for actress Fujiwara Norika (35) and comedian Jinnai Tomonori (32) on May 30. There are also plans for the bride and groom’s parents to appear on the NTV “Narutomo!” morning variety show – co-hosted by Jinnai – a couple of days after the couple’s wedding ceremony on February 17. The show is only broadcast in central and western Japan.

Talk about Beauty and the Beast! Well, that hardly seems fair to Yoshimoto comedian Tsutsumishita Atsushi (29), but that’s how the media are reporting his newly-discovered romance with fashion model Tokita Reiko (22). The chubby member of manzai duo Impulse weighs in at 80kg but that didn’t put off Tokita, who made the first move last autumn when the pair worked together on a variety show. What has reporters speculating that this is a serious relationship is the fact that they spent a week together over the New Year break at the luxury Bulgari Resort in Bali, where rooms cost around $1,000 a night. Tsutsumishita told comedian Akashiya Sanma (51) about the trip during the recent recording of this weekend’s edition of his show, “Sanma no Super Karakuri TV”, adding that it cleaned out his savings. The couple met on another Sanma-hosted show, “Odoru! Sanma Goten” variety show in October, with Tokita telling Tsutsumishita on air that she was an Impulse fan and liked him. Sanma got them to exchange telephone numbers and they clearly took it from there. Impulse, with Itakura Shunsuke as the boke, made their debut in 1998. Tokita made her debut in the teen magazine “Cawaii!” while she was in high school.

• Sunday’s opening episode of Kimura Takuya‘s latest drama scored a high 27.7% audience rating in the Kanto region, according to Video Research. TBS’s “Karenaru Ichizoku” is by far the most popular drama of the winter season, though its ratings still fall well below Kimutaku’s best. Of the 12 series he’s starred in going back to Fuji’s mega-hit “Long Vacation” in 1996, the latest opener ranked only 8th.

Morning Musume leader Yoshizawa Hitomi (21) is a true professional. Yesterday, she made a scheduled concert appearance with the dozens of other Hello! Project members despite the recent tragic death of her younger brother. The 26-song set went ahead as planned, with the pink-clad Yoshizawa making reference only to how sad she was about her planned “graduation” from Morning Musume in May. She is currently the longest-serving member of the group, having joined in 2000. Word of her personal tragedy had spread among the 2,400 fans at the Osaka Kouseinenkin Kaikan hall, and they shouted their encouragement. But reporters were told that she would not be answering any questions about the tragedy after the concert. 16-year-old Yoshizawa Hirota was killed in a traffic accident last Thursday.

• Also on the road are rock band Glay, who kicked off the second leg of their 42-show nationwide tour at the Yokohama Arena yesterday. Some 13,500 fans enjoyed a two-and-a-half-hour set that included the new single “100-mankai no Kiss”, out on January 17. It’s taken from their first original album in almost three years, “Love is Beautiful”, which goes on sale January 31.

• Finishing a mommoth tour yesterday were Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. They celebrated the end of a 6-month, 71-date tour, that included shows in Europe, with 15,000 fans at the Saitama Super Arena. They will release a greatest hits album and a “road movie” about their tour in March.

• In town promoting his latest book is former U.S. vice president Al Gore (58). He appeared at a book-signing event for “An Inconvenient Truth” at the Maruzen bookstore in Tokyo’s Marunouchi district yesterday. Today he is to meet with the environment minister and business leaders, and attend the Japan premiere of the documentary movie based on his book at the Asahi Hall in Yurakucho.

Former and current members of Morning Musume have formed a new unit to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the popular girl group on January 28. Morning Musume Tanjou 10-Nen Kinentai is made up of “graduates” Abe Natsumi (25), Iida Kaori (25) and Goto Maki (21), and current younger members Niigaki Risa (18) and Kusumi Koharu (14). They have recorded a commemorative single, “Bokura ga Ikiru, My Asia”, which will also be the theme tune of the upcoming Cirque du Soleil show “Dralion”. The name is a combination of the Eastern dragon and the Western lion, and the tune is described by Helo! Project founder and producer Tsunku (38) as a reflection of that east-meets-west theme. The show opens on February 7 and other celebrity supporters enlisted to promote it include comediennes Hisamoto Masami and Shibata Rie, newscaster Ogura Tomoaki, and Olympic ice skating gold medalist Arakawa Shizuka. Morning Musume will also have their annual spring tour from March to May 6, after which leader Yoshizawa Hitomi (21) will graduate from the group. Her role will be filled by Fujimoto Miki (21).

• The DJ Ozma scandal continues and NHK chairman Hashimoto Genichi (63) spoke about nothing else during his regular press conference yesterday. The public broadcaster has received some 1,800 complaints from viewers about the “naked” performance of Ozma and his dancers on Kohaku last New Year’s Eve. The network has apologized, as have Ozma’s label, Toshiba EMI. But NHK are determined that there will be no repeat of such a “surprise attack” on future shows. Ozma appeared on NHK music shows a total of eight times last year, but is unlikely to be seen on the network again anytime soon as he has been resolutely unapologetic for the incident. In future, according to Hashimoto, verbal agreements will be replaced with written contracts that clearly forbid unsuitable” performances. There are also plans for a new manual on how to change camera angles during a live broadcast. On a related note, three U.S. stations in San Fransisco, Los Angeles and Hawaii broadcast an edited version of the show.

• Johnny’s veteran Higashiyama Noriyuki (40) has fessed up to his romance with actress Uchiyama Rina (25). The former Shonentai member admitted to the relationship in a message to fans on the Johnny’s Web mobile site.

Singer turned actress hitomi (30) avoided her usual sexy attire for the Japan premiere of the Tsukamoto Shinya movie “Akumu Tantei” (Nightmare Detective) yesterday. She wore a kimono for the event, attended by 2,000 fans, and looked every bit the ideal Japanese beauty. Giving her her first starring role and co-starring Matsuda Ryuhei (23), the movie was first shown at the Pusan Film Festival last October and is slated to open in 15 countries, including the U.S. and the U.K. Tsukamoto is said to be planning a series and may follow in the footsteps of other horror directors who have recently started working in Hollywood. Some 11 companies are interested in doing a remake. Akumu Tantei’s plot reads like “Nightmare on Elm Street” meets “One Missed Call”. Detective Kirishima Keiko (Hitomi) tries to recruit a mysterious man (Matsuda) who can enter people’s dreams to help unravel unusual suicides whose victims are found to have dialled 0 on their mobile phones before their death. It opens here on January 13.

• Permanently bronzed singer Matsuzaki Shigeru (57) is a proud dad once again. He announced the birth of his third child yesterday at a PR event for the upcoming movie “Keitai Deka, The Movie 2”. He provided songs for the movie’s soundtrack, including the theme tune. His wife Hiroyo gave birth to their second daughter on January 4.

Yamamoto Mona (30) admits she was a “jackass”! The newscaster, forced to quit the TBS show “News23” in October following revelations of an affair with a married politician, continues to submit herself to humiliation as an act of repentance. She made her first public appearance yesterday since the scandal, taking on the role of “Jackass Japan Section Chief” in a PR event for the movie “jackass number two”. Directed by Jeff Tremain and again starring Johnny Knoxville and Bam Margera, the sequel continues to exploit the success of MTV’s show based on crazy, dangerous and irresponsible behavior. In an effort to restart her career, Yamamoto is going along with the spin that her own lifestyle was similarly reckless. Her only TV appearance after leaving News23 was on Beat Takeshi‘s Ultra Quiz revival at the end of the year, on which she was the constant butt of jokes. “jackass…” opens on January 13.

• DJ Ozma is enjoying the benefit of his recent Kohaku scandal. The singer caused an uproar on the New Year’s Eve song contest when he and his dancers appeared wearing costumes that, at a glance, made them seem naked. Hundreds of complaints flooded into NHK, who issued an apology. But the flamboyant Ozma has been totally unapologetic and his single “Age Age Every Kishi” has shot up the Oricon chart. It jumped from 107 to 42, the largest ever rise credited to the “Kohaku effect”. Meanwhile, at No.1 on the singles chart is Mr. Children’s “Shirushi”. And on top of the album chart is Koda Kumi with “Black Cherry”.

• Japan’s ace pitcher threw his last baseball in public before he heads off to join the Boston Red Sox this week. Matsuzaka Daisuke (26) took part as a guest in an exhibition game between amateur teams on Sunday. Though his new MLB contract forbids him from playing elsewhere, he threw a ceremonial opening pitch to Ibaragi Golden Goals owner, comedian Hagimoto Kinichi. Matsuzaka wore a No.1 shirt for the Yokohama Samurai, who are based in his hometown. He was also roped in to throwing a closing pitch, this time to another special guest, veteran actor Watari Tetsuya. He leaves for the U.S. on Thursday. It’s surely no coincidence that the date – 1/11 – is similar to the amount the Sox paid to negotiate with him – $51,111,111.11!

• Traditional dancer Hanayagi Juraku died from emphysema on Sunday at a Tokyo hospital. He was 88. Designated as a Living National Treasure in 1991, he was a leading figure in kabuki buyo who also choreographed dance performances abroad and by the Takarazuka theatrical troupe.

Perhaps the biggest showbiz story over the New Year came from NHK’s continuing struggle to revive its annual Kohaku Uta Gassen show on December 31. For several years, the show has seen its once-dominant audience ratings drop lower and lower despite ever-increasing appeals to younger TV viewers. Things were no better this year, with a live apology, the second-worst ever ratings, and tragedy striking the crew. The network was inundated with complaints about a naked DJ Ozma and his topless dancers – in fact, the singer was wearing a semi-realistic looking appendage and the girls were wearing costumes that made them look naked. But the fuss caused NHK to make an apology on air. The network later said they had not anticipated the incident as the performers had used different costumes in rehearsals, though it was the same performance Ozma had used during his recent nationwide tour. He and his dancers performed the same routine later that night on TBS, with no fuss. Meanwhile, tragedy struck earlier in the day, when a member of the NHK crew collapsed during final rehearsals. The 56-year old man had been filling the role of Olympic gold medalist Arakawa Shizuka during rehearsals when he collapsed. He died in hospital on New Year’s Day.

• It’s the standard practice for many Japanese celebrities to wind down from the hectic year-end schedule by spending a few days vacationing in Hawaii or other warmer climes over the New Year. Actress Fujiwara Norika (35) and comedian Jinnai Tomonori (32) returned yesterday from their short “pre-honeymoon” in Miami and were greeted by about 50 reporters at Narita Airport. The couple are set to have the biggest showbiz wedding of the year at Ikuta Jinja shrine in their hometown of Kobe on February 17. Already married are comedian Ogi Hiroaki (35) and Moriyama Naho (34), who were in Hawaii for a New Year honeymoon. Naho is the daughter of folk singer Moriyama Ryoko. Other celebrities in Hawaii included local ukelele player Jake Shimabukuro (30), who appeared on Kohaku, singer Koda Shin and comedians Kawada Hiroki, Ueda Shinya and Shibata Rie.

• Actress Kikuchi Rinko (26) has been nominated by the Screen Actors Guild for a Best Supporting Actress award for her role in “Babel”. The nomination follows similar recognition last month from the National Board of Review and the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

• Popular actress Amami Yuki (39) and rock singer Kikkawa Koji (41) have split up. The pair had been dating since 2003, and their relationship became public in the summer of 2004. They are said to have grown apart and broke up on good terms. Though it’s probably nothing to do with the split, Kikkawa is the only celebrity to have acknowledged his former relationship with actress Ishihara Mariko (42) following her publication late last year of a book about her romantic involvement with 13 famous stars. He’s also the only one Ishihara says she thought she could have married.