Yearly Archives: 2008

Actress Fukaura Kanako died of cancer at a Tokyo hospital on Monday night, it was revealed yesterday. She was 48. An established supporting actress, she had roles in a wide variety of TV dramas and movies. According to her father, she was diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer about five years ago and had been in and out of hospital and underwent surgery several times. But had continued working right up until what was to be her final hospitalization at the beginning of this month, after it was found that the cancer had spread to her lungs. She went into a coma on August 24 and never awoke. Her final work had been the narration of the documentary about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima that was broadcast on August 6. She began her acting career on the stage while a student at Meiji University in 1980. She started working more on TV and in movies from 1989 and her career included roles in dramas such as “Ie Naki Ko,” “Nurse no Shigoto” and “Shomuni” and movies like “Tasogare Seibei” and “Battle Royale.”

• TV Asahi and network vice-president Hayakawa Hiroshi have sued the publisher Kodansha at the Tokyo District Court. The suit, which seeks ¥200 million in libel damages and a published apology, is related to an article published in the “Shuukan Gendai” magazine in June 2007 that claimed Hayakawa was the recipient of illegal business entertainment.

As he departed Japan yesterday to attend the upcoming 65th Venice International Film Festival, Kitano Takeshi (61) made the first public mention of his next movie project. He’s off to Venice for the seventh time, with his latest movie “Akiresu to Kame” (Achilles and the Tortoise) entered in the main competition. Asked if he was nervous, he said, “It’s been, what 10 years now. I was nervous with ‘Hana-bi’ (which won the coveted Golden Lion in 1997) but I’ve been to lots of different competitions and festivals in the last ten years. So it’s nothing new to me anymore.” The festival takes place from August 27 to September 7. Once that and the opening of the new film on September 20 are out of the way, he plans to get stuck into his next project. At Narita Airport yesterday, he said it will be a samurai drama but completely different from his 2003 hit “Zatoichi.” That film was a huge commercial and critical success – it won the Silver Lion director’s prize at Venice – but Kitano’s other work in the decade before and since has been a frustrating diversion into arthouse and the downright bizarre. He’s not one to pander to public tastes and he continues to insist that he doesn’t care about the movie market, but it may be time for him to come out with another commercial success or risk tarnishing his reputation further.

Meanwhile, asked about the career of Yamamoto Mona, the announcer who can’t seem to keep away from married men and is represented by his Office Kitano agency, Kitano said he has no plans to get her career back on track this time. He supported her through a similar incident a few years ago but this time says, “We represent her and if necessary we’ll discipline her. But it hasn’t reached that point. The whole thing became such a big deal, it’s best to wait until things calm down.”

• The audience rating figures are in for the recently completed Beijing Olympics. The highest rating was for the August 8 opening ceremony on NHK, watched by 37.3% of households. Sunday’s closing ceremony drew a rating of 25.1%. The only sports event that drew a rating over 30% was when the Japan women’s softball team won the gold medal in a major upset over a U.S. team that was previously unbeaten for 22 games. The highly anticipated women’s marathon suffered from the pre-race withdrawal of 2004 gold medalist Noguchi Mizuki due to injury and the fact that Tosa Reiko pulled up in agony half way through the race. NTV’s coverage of the event, the only non-NHK broadcast in the top 10, drew a rating of 28.1% but no doubt that figure dropped considerably after a tearful Tosa pulled out.

Southern All Stars brought another chapter of their long career to an emotional close yesterday. They left many of the 70,000 fans in tears after the last of four shows at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, and what could possibly be their last concert performance. Japan’s most popular band and in their commemorative 30th year, they said back in May that they’ll be taking an open-ended break from 2009. They currently have no official plans to perform again this year, but frontman Kuwata Keisuke made vague reassuring comments suggesting they would return in the future in some form. After a set that included 46 songs and was performed in the rain, Kuwata and his wife, keyboard player Hara Yuko, shed a few tears themselves as they thanked the fans for their many years of support. The band’s latest single, “I Am Your Singer,” is currently on top of the charts.

• Johnny’s Jimusho announced yesterday that SMAP‘s upcoming nationwide dome tour will start with six nights at Tokyo Dome. The September 24-26 and 28-30 shows will be most ever at the venue by a Japanese artist, beating rockers Glay who played five nights there in 1999. A new album will go on sale on the day of the first show. “Super.Modern.Artistic.Performance” features collaborations with Burt Baccarach and the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am. The group usually tour in the summer but have been busy this year with Olympic-related projects for TBS, including the network’s Olympic theme song “Kono Toki, Kitto Yume Ja Nai”.

• A couple of veteran rockers recently announced upcoming visits to this country. The “Godfather of Heavy Metal,” Ozzy Osbourne (59), will be here in October for his first Japan show in six and a half years. Fittingly, the October 27 venue will be the venerable Nippon Budokan. And Jackson Browne (59) will have a show in Osaka and two in Tokyo in late November. He turns 60 in October, while Osbourne has his “kanreki” (60th birthday, when Japanese people traditionally wear red) in December.

• Arriving a bit earlier will be Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr. He’ll be in Tokyo on September 2 to promote “Ironman,” the superhero flick that has relaunched his once glittering career. He was last in Japan at the height of that fame in 1993, when he was promoting his Oscar-nominated role in “Chaplin.” Clearly, Japan’s policy of not allowing convicted drug offenders into the country is a thing of the past.

Hollywood star Will Smith (39) was in Tokyo again yesterday, this time for the Japan premiere of his superhero movie “Hancock.” For the red carpet walk, producers had set up a mock up car that Smith was supposed to use his “super powers” to send flying into the air. But the car was blown over by a strong gust of wind and the helium gas balloon inside ended up in the nearby Suidobashi train station. Smith joked that indeed his super powers were to blame, but that’s not likely the story organizers told local police when they had to report the incident. before the screening at the JCB Hall next to Tokyo Dome, Smith was joined on stage by co-star Charlize Theron (33) and sumo yokozuna Asashoryu (27). The movie is in Japanese theaters from August 30.

Veteran actress Yoshinaga Sayuri (63) is to play the legendary and controversial shaman queen Himiko in the upcoming movie “Moboroshi no Yamataikoku.” According to ancient records, Yamataikoku was a country that existed within ancient Wa (Japan) in the third century AD and was ruled by Himiko. The controversy comes from the fact that nobody knows for sure where the land was or whether Himiko even really existed. She is mentioned by name in the Chinese “Records of Three Kingdoms” but not once in the oldest Japanese chronicles, the “Kojiki” (Records of Ancient Matters) and “Nihon Shoki” (Chronicles of Japan). There is speculation, for example, as to whether she and Empress Jingu are in fact one and the same. Though it has been described as “the greatest debate over the ancient history of Japan,” this hasn’t stopped Japanese scholars from establishing Himiko as a historical figure and her story is the most famous in the history textbooks of young school children.

Yoshinaga is often described as the “face of Japan” and is an obvious choice to take on the role of Himiko. She spent two hours getting made up, using an image she herself had distilled from sources as varied as the onnagata of kabuki to Elizabeth Taylor’s “Cleopatra.” The silk kimono she wore was hand-made over two months by a team of 20 artisans at a cost of ¥10 million. And all this for the role of Himiko that lasts for about one minute of the movie. The rest of the time, she plays Miyazaki Kazuko, who spent the 1960s searching for the lost Yamataikoku with her husband, the blind history researcher Miyazaki Kouhei. The movie, directed by Tsutsumi Yukihiko, opens on November 1 and a set of commemorative stamps are to be issued at post offices next month.

• Former top idol singer Aida Shoko (38) announced yesterday that she recently married a doctor. She said through her management agency that she and Aizawa Hiromitsu (37), an anesthesiologist, tied the knot on August 31. They first met in the summer of 2006 and their relationship was revealed in a weekly magazine in April of last year. Aida says she was happy to start a new chapter in her life in a year that marks the 20th anniversary of her showbiz career. She and Suzuki Sachiko (39) debuted in 1988 as the pop duo Wink with “Sugar Baby Love.” They won a record award the following year and had a string of hits until they split up in 1996. Aida went solo and developed a career as an actress and TV talento. Aizawa is the son of former politician Aizawa Hideyuki (89) and actress Tsukasa Yoko (74).

The Louvre museum in Paris yesterday allowed the first ever PR event in front of the Mona Lisa for the Japanese movie “20-seiki Shonen” (20th Century Boys). The manga adaptation was also the first Japanese movie to have its world premiere in the French capital, screening at the Publicis Cinéma on the Champs Elysées. Star Karasawa Toshiaki (45) and actress Tokiwa Takako (36) had visited the Louvre before but never had the Mona Lisa to themselves. Well, apart from museum personnel and about 80 reporters. Security was tight and cameras were strictly prohibited from shooting any artwork other than the da Vinci masterpiece. Toikiwa was something of a work of art herself, wearing a bright purple kimono. “20th Century Boys” is a three-part adaptation of a hit manga series that sold over 20 million copies. There are already plans to screen the movie, which opens in Japan on August 30, in more than 20 countries.

• At last night’s Japan premiere of “Sex and the City” actresses Fujiwara Norika (37) and Itoh Misaki (31) wore the wedding dresses featured in the movie. Director Michael Patrick King said he wants to make his next movie in Tokyo and work with the two Japanese beauties. Also at the event were pop group Max, with Aki (27) making one of her last appearances as a member before she quits at the end of this month.

• An update to yesterday’s story about the engagement of actress Hatano Hiroko (32) and J-League star Suzuki Keita (27). Both of them made official statements yesterday, with Hatano revealing that she is pregnant and has stepped down from her role in an upcoming TV Asahi drama series. She was set to reprise her role in “Salaryman Kintaro,” the drama in which she made her debut in 1999. Suzuki didn’t update his blog until after the international friendly between Japan and Uruguay, though he was on the bench for the game. Any wedding plans will have to fit into a busy schedule for the star midfielder. He is expected to play in next month’s final World Cup qualifier against Bahrain and also has the upcoming Asian Champions League with his club team, Urawa Reds.

Actress Hatano Hiroko (32) and J-League soccer player Suzuki Keita (27) are engaged to be married, it was revealed yesterday. The two started dating last year. Hatano was a top model with the popular fashion magazine JJ before entering showbiz, making her acting debut in the drama “Salaryman Kintaro” in 1999. The same year, she made a name for herself when she took over from Fujiwara Norika as a presenter on the “SRS” martial arts show. She appeared in several drama series before choosing retirement following her marriage to actor Kashiwabara Takashi (32) in June 2004. But a year later she was back at work and their marriage ended in February 2006. Suzuki is a defensive midfielder with Urawa Reds and the national team. He played for his country at the 2004 Olympics and has had 28 international caps since 2006.

• It seems that NHK have forgiven singer Kikkawa Koji for his past misdeeds. Famously banned from the national network following an incident in 1985, he has been named to a key supporting role in next year’s taiga drama. “Tenchijin” will star Tsumabuki Satoshi (27) as Naoe Kanetsugu (1560-1620), a retainer to the Uesugi clan, while Kikkawa (43) will play warlord Oda Nobunaga (1534-82). The cast also includes Tokiwa Takako, Abe Hiroshi, Matsukata Hiroki and Nagasawa Masami among other top stars. The year-long series started filming this week and will air from January 2009. Kikkawa incurred the wrath of NHK when he appeared on the annual “Kohaku Utagassen” on New Year’s Eve 1985. As he sang the song “Monica” he sprayed champagne on the stage and set it alight, causing a major disruption to the live broadcast. The role as Oda is his first in a drama since NHK gave him a break in 2002 with a part in the series “Mayonaka wa Betsu no Kao.”

• The four members of pop group Speed are to get back together for NTV’s 24-hour telethon on August 30-31. It will be their third reunion since they officially split in 2000. Member Imai Eriko (24) says she wants to give her young son, who she revealed for the first time is deaf, a chance to see her perform. Imai and musician Shogo of the group 175R divorced last September. Speed will perform a medley of their hits at the Nippon Budokan on the afternoon of August 31.

• Korean star Ryu Siwon (35) was at the same Budokan for the third time last night for the first of three shows to round off his “Motto Motto” Japan tour. He performed 20 songs including his latest, “Kimi to Boku.” He announced that later this year he will be the first Korean actor to play at Tokyo Dome, with two shows on December 23-24.

Amuro Namie (30) has become the first artist to have a million-selling album in her teens, twenties and thirties. Her latest hits collection, “Best Fiction,” has been at No.1 on the Oricon album chart since it went on sale July 30 and the latest sales tally is 1.09 million copies, making it the third album this year to break the million barrier. Other artists who have managed to go “platinum” (by the U.S. standard, anyway) in more than one decade include Inoue Yosui (in his 20s and 30s), Utada Hikaru and Nakashima Mika (in their teens and 20s). Amuro debuted in 1992 and was very much a 90s phenomenon, becoming a fashion leader for a whole generation of girls. Though her last million-selling album was 1998’s “181920,” her failed marriage to TRF dancer Sam and motherhood seem to have only broadened her appeal. She is currently top of the lineup of Avex artists on the “a-nation ’08” tour, which she joined this year for the first time, and she has a 16-venue, 40-show arena tour coming up in October. The latest sales figures show that she can still claim to be at the top of the J-pop world.

• The NHK taiga period drama “Atsu-hime” has reached new heights of popularity. The August 17 episode had a superb audience rating of 27.7%, making it the second-most watched show of the week after the hugely anticipated women’s Olympic marathon. The series had already set new high with last week’s rating of 26.4%, and the latest episode featured the first appearance of the key character Kazunomiya, played by popular young actress Horikita Maki (20).

• New Zealand-born singer/songwriter Jay’Ed (26) yesterday announced the release of his second single. The ballad “Zutto Issho” is the follow up to his May debut single “Superwoman.” The song has already done well in download rankings before it’s official release on August 27. Raised in Osaka, Jay’Ed says his new song has the warm island music influence of his other home country.

• Visiting Japan again is Hollywood star Jodie Foster (45), here to promote the movie “Nim’s Island,” which opens in Japan on September 6. Foster, who first visited Japan when she was 12, brought her two young sons with her this time. She said she wants them to have as many experiences as possible while young, but added, “I didn’t know it could get this hot in Japan!”

Singer Crystal Kay (22) has been given a crack at a Hollywood breakthrough. It was revealed at the weekend that her rock song “Hold On” has been chosen as the theme for an adaptation of the Steven King short story “Dolan’s Cadillac.” Due for U.S. release next year, it tells the tale of a mild-mannered teacher (Wes Bentley) seeking revenge against the mobster (Christian Slater) who murdered his wife. The movie has been in the works for several years, with names like Kevin Bacon, Sylvester Stallone and Dennis Hopper linked with the project. But the latest attempt looks likely to be completed, and filming has taken place in Canada and Las Vegas. Producer Ellen Wander says she chose Kay’s unreleased song after one listen, “I’m excited to be working with a singer overflowing with such stimulating talent. This is an exceptional movie that provides the perfect backdrop for her beautiful and exciting music.” The song, with all English lyrics, is her first for an overseas movie, though she has provided themes for a few domestic productions. The Yokohama-born Kay plans to embark on a U.S. career in September after graduating Japanese university. She recently worked with top producers Jam and Lewis in L.A. on two tracks for her latest album “Color Change!”

• Actor Kanasugi Taro recently died from injuries he suffered earlier this year. He was 33. After a night of drinking with school friends in March, he fell onto the subway tracks at Ikebukuro station in Tokyo. He underwent surgery for a brain contusion, but remained in a coma until his death on August 2. Real name Fukazawa Taro, he began acting as a child and landed a role in the popular school drama series “3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei” in 1988. He later had a role in the long-running TBS afternoon series “Ten Made Todoke.” He was married in 1999.

Another young female idol has found that work and romance are not allowed to mix. Kikuchi Ayaka (15) has been kicked out of the popular idol group AKB48 for indulging in “behavior that was careless and lacking in self awareness.” Photos of Kikuchi and a boyfriend were recently circulated on the Web leading to her being disciplined and dropped from performances since August 2. Her contract with the Production Ogi management agency was also canceled.

• “Blindness,” the multinational Hollywood movie that features local stars Kimura Yoshino (32) and Iseya Yuusuke (32), is to be shown in almost 80 countries worldwide. The Japanese-Canadian-Brazilian production also features Julianne Moore, Danny Glover and Mexican actor Mexican actor Gael García Bernal and received a lot of international interest after it was chosen to open this year’s Cannes film festival. The Japanese pair were already romantically involved off-screen before they headed for Canada for several months last year shooting the movie on location. But, as we reported here in early June, they have indicated that their relationship is now over. Yesterday in Tokyo, they took the stage together for the first time since then, appearing with director Fernando Meirelles at a PR event for the movie, which opens in Japan in November.