Yearly Archives: 2008

Actress and singer Nishikawa Mineko (49) has filed for divorce from her husband. In an interview in today’s issue of weekly magazine “Josei Jishin”, she says they are separated and have already held their first hearing at the Tokyo Family Court. The couple married in July 2001, after Nishikawa proposed on just their sixth date. The following year, thanks in part to his wife’s fame, Murakami Takashi (42) successfully ran in a municipal election in his native Shimane Prefecture. Nishikawa paid to have a new home built there and she later also funded a restaurant in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward. But last April saw the end of Murakami’s five-year term, the closing of the restaurant, and the beginnings of divorce. Nishikawa has moved back to the Tochigi Prefecture home where she lived before getting married. That home was in the news in 1998 when, just one month after it was built, it was destroyed by a typhoon. Now a fairly minor name, Nishikawa’s heyday as a singer was in the late 1970s. She got back in the headlines in 1993 when she published a book of nude photos. She is currently appearing in an afternoon drama series on TBS.

• It’s been a while but Amuro Namie (30) is back on top of the pop charts. Her latest single “60s, 70s, 80s” entered the Oricon rankings at No.2 last week and became her tenth chart topper this week. That’s an unusual pattern these days, with most strong releases going straight to No.1. The latest album from Utada Hikaru (25) has done just that. Her sixth No.1 album, “Heart Station” has sold almost half a million copies in its first week.

• One of Amuro’s idols was in the news yesterday. Mariah Carey (37) announced that she’s coming to Japan at the end of May to promote the follow up to her 2005 comeback album “The Emancipation of Mimi”. The new album, which goes on sale April 16, will include a lottery ticket that offers fans a chance to meet the star.

• Veteran actor Tanaka Kunie (75) is to take on his first drama lead role in more than five years, it was announced yesterday. Best known for the long-running “Kita no Kuni” series, which was most recently revived for a special in September 2002, Tanaka will star in the Fuji TV special “Kujira to Medaka”. The story tells of a company president who is ousted by his son and unsure how to live out his remaining years. He encounters a junior high school girl (Shida Mirai, 14), also trying to figure out how to live her life. Written by director Matsuyama Zenzou (82), the drama will air in May.

• Tsunku (39), Sharan Q vocalist and the “father” of the Hello! Project and Morning Musume, is to be an actual father, it was revealed yesterday. His wife Kanako (27) is expecting their first child in mid-May. The music producer and the former model married in June 2006. Through his various musical projects, Tsunku has brought to life some 1,100 J-pop songs that have sold somewhere in the order of 53 million CDs.

• The latest romance rumor about recently divorced kabuki actor Nakamura Shido (35) links him with actress Suzuki Sawa (35). The two were photographed at a posh yakiniku restaurant in Tokyo by the weekly gossip magazine “Flash”. They worked together in 2004 on the NHK taiga drama series “Shinsengumi”. Nakamura split with his wife, popular actress Takeuchi Yuko (27), last year but their divorce was formalized less than a month ago.

Southern All Stars vocalist Kuwata Keisuke (52) gave an historic concert performance on Sunday night. His acoustic concert on the Okinawan island of Ishigakijima was the first ever live show broadcast on all 53 FM radio stations in Japan. In a career that now spans 30 years, it was also Kuwata’s first performance on the island, a remote but popular tourist attraction in the far south of the country. Included in the 20-song set was a duet with Begin, the most famous band to have come from the island. They performed their song “Nada Sousosu”, which was a hit for local singer Natsukawa Rimi and is perhaps the best known song to have originated in the southern islands. There was also a surprise appearance from Kuwata’s wife and fellow SAS member Hara Yuko (51). The audience of about 1,000 included 800 inhabitants of neighboring islands who were invited to the show free of charge.

• A busy schedule meant that actor Enari Kazuki (23) was unable to attend his university graduation ceremony yesterday. The popular young star of the long-running TBS drama “Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari” majored in cultural history at Seijo University in Tokyo. He has already started to further his studies of world history and plans to attend another college.

• He may not have been in the crowd to see his old school make their first appearance at Koshien, but X Japan leader Yoshiki made sure that just about the whole school was there. Chiba Prefecture representatives Awa High School won their debut at the national high school spring invitational baseball championship on Saturday. And they were cheered on by most of their schoolmates, thanks in part to a donation from Yoshiki that paid for 15 busloads of students to make the trip halfway across the country. The spring and summer tournaments are held every year at the venerable Koshien stadium in Hyogo Prefecture, which is also home to the Hanshin Tigers. Another victory for Awa in the second round on Thursday would set the right mood for X Japan’s long-awaited comeback concerts in Tokyo this weekend.

Model and talento Mie (25) and Japan’s top international pro surfer Tajima Teppei (23) are engaged to be married, it was revealed yesterday. They plan to hold a small wedding ceremony in Tokyo on Sunday. Tajima heads off to compete overseas next month, but Mie is likely to stay behind as she’s currently four months pregnant. Last week she took part in the Tokyo Girls Collection, a major fashion event that will be her last job as a model. A “JJ” magazine cover girl while a student at Aoyama Gakuin University, she has also worked as a presenter on TV shows such as Fuji TV’s “Mot-Supo!” and TV Asahi’s “Warai no Kin Medal”. A scheduled appearance on Fuji’s “Tamacchi!” on Monday will be her last. Fluent in English, she plans to support her husband’s career on the international surfing circuit. A pro since he was 16, last year Tajima became the first surfer to win four World Qualifying Series events in a row and is now the No.1 surfer in Asia. On hearing that Mie was pregnant, he proposed to her on the same Chiba Prefecture beach where they first met in July of last year.

• Also currently riding a wave of success is British singer Leona Lewis (22), who yesterday announced her first visit to Japan. Her debut album “Spirit” topped the charts for seven weeks and sold over 2 million copies in the U.K. at the end of last year. The single “Bleeding Love” has been getting a lot of airplay here, and recently entered the U.S. chart Top 10. “Spirit” is released in Japan on April 23 and Lewis will support the album with a live tour in early May.

• Details of the upcoming tribute concerts to the late X Japan guitarist hide were announced yesterday. May 2 will be the tenth anniversary of his death at the age of 33, and the two shows at Ajinomoto Stadium, in the western Tokyo suburb of Chofu, will be held May 3&4. In addition to his old bandmates, the concert will feature some 20 acts including Dir En Grey, Luna Sea and T. M. Revolution. The main organizer of the “Hide Memorial Summit” is hide’s younger brother and personal manager, Matsumoto Yuji.

• The Hokkaido town of Yubari celebrated the re-opening of its International Fantastic Film Festival yesterday. Actress Ayase Haruka (22) was on hand for the screening of her latest movie “Boku no Kanojo wa Saibogu” (My Girlfriend is a Cyborg). The event, which was launched in 1990, missed a year in 2007 due to the town’s bankruptcy, which drew nationwide attention.

• Hip hop artist Kreva (31) held a show last night to commemorate the reopening after four and a half years of the Akasaka Blitz live house in central Tokyo. He performed all sixteen tracks from his hits collection “Kreva no Bestban”, which went on sale Wednesday.

• According to the latest survey by chart company Oricon, Fuji TV’s Takashima Aya (29) remains the country’s most popular announcer. She clinched the top spot for the fourth year in a row, holding off her “Mezamashi Terebi” co-presenter Nakano Minako (28).

Hip hop unit Teriyaki Boyz are having another go at international stardom. Led by fashion icon Nigo (37), the group performed in Taiwan and New York last year, and yesterday they announced their first concert in Hong Kong. They will play at the Hitec Star Hall on April 10. They are also scheduled to appear with Pharrell Williams’ alternative rock unit N.E.R.D. and Kanye West at an event at Makuhari Messe on April 5. Their latest single “Zock On!”, which was written by Williams (34) and also features Busta Rhymes, is released today. Nigo is the creator of the fashion brand BAPE (Bathing Ape).

• Actress twins Mikura Mana and Kana (22) graduated this week from the social studies department of Kansai Gakuin University. The inseparable duo are popularly known as ManaKana.

• Comedian Tamura Ryo (36) announced yesterday through the Yoshimoto agency that he became a father for the second time last week. One half of the popular duo London Boots, Tamura married in June 2003 and his wife Arisa (34) had a baby the following September.

• Janet Jackson (41) made a sudden announcement yesterday that she will be visiting Japan next month to set up her first tour here since 2002. Just last week she suffered from respiratory failure, but she insists that one part of her busy schedule that won’t change is the four-day visit from April 9. The trip is in support of her new album “Discipline”, her first U.S. chart-topping release in seven years.

• Moribe Tatsuya, the stepson of actor Yamashita Shinji (56), was found dead at his Tokyo home by his mother last week. He was 38. Police gave the cause of death as a heart attack, but he was found hanging by a necktie and left a suicide note. Moribe made his movie debut in 1992’s “Wangan Midnight” but had not worked as an actor for some time. was the son of

Could wedding bells be just around the corner for another Tokio member? This week’s issue of “Flash” magazine revealed that Matsuoka Masahiro (31) is currently sharing his Tokyo home with his girlfriend, described as looking like talento Nakagawa Shoko. The couple were spotted leaving the luxury apartment building last week, and the Tokio drummer confirmed the relationship, saying they’ve been together for about five years. The Johnnys Jimusho agency also confirmed the story but said there has been no mention of marriage. V6 member Inohara Yoshihiko (31) married actress Seto Asaka (31) last year and Tokio bassist Yamaguchi Tatsuya (36) got hitched to a former model just over a week ago. So it’s considered unlikely that another of the agency’s micromanaged stars would make a similar announcement so soon. Tokio are currently on the first leg of a nationwide tour, playing shows in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. The second leg will bring them to smaller regional venues, including Matsuoka’s hometown of Sapporo at the end of July. If he is to make a big announcement this year, that might just be the time and place.

With Kimura Takuya (35) in the lead role, Fuji TV’s biggest drama of the upcoming spring season was already a sure-fire hit. Yesterday it was announced that “Change” will have a theme song provided by none other than Madonna (49). The ballad “Miles Away” will be the first song that the singer has allowed to be used for a drama, in Japan or anywhere else. Fuji staff contacted Madonna about the project last December, when she happened to be in the middle of producing her latest album, “Hard Candy”. She had previously met Kimutaku when she appeared as a guest on the “SMAPxSMAP” show in 2005, but the network had little hope that she would agree to the idea. But they say she was taken with the tale of an elementary school teacher who suddenly finds himself in the world of politics and named Japan’s new prime minister. She chose the medium tempo ballad, one of her favorite tracks on the album, as the song best suited to the story. The album goes on sale in Japan on April 30. Newly named to the “Change” cast, which also includes Fukatsu Eri (35), are (l-to-r) the recently married Abe Hiroshi (43), Terao Akira (60) and Kato Rosa(22), all of whom are big enough names to carry a series of their own.

• Former top Takarazuka star Aika Mire (43) has dropped out of an upcoming stage musical due to health problems. She was to star in “Sempo – Japan’s Schindler” at the New National Theater from April 4.

• Actress Ohkouchi Nanako (30) announced yesterday that she is expecting her first child. She is four months pregnant and the baby is due in September. She married stage actor and screenwriter Takuma Takayuki (37) at the end of 2006. Last year they worked together on the TBS drama series “Utahime”, which was written by Takuma.

Actress Hirosue Ryoko (27) yesterday suddenly announced on her website that she and model/designer Okazawa Takahiro (32) are divorced. Following a recent pattern set by such celebs as actress Takeuchi Yuko and talento Chiaki, Hirosue will support herself as a single mother. She has custody of their 3-year-old son and Okazawa will not pay any alimony. Hirosue certainly shouldn’t have any financial worries – she’s appearing in two movies due for release this year, “Okuribito” and “Goemon”; she stars in the Fuji TV drama series “Yume no Mitsukekata wo Oshietaru” and has another role lined up for later in the year; and she currently has four commercial contracts, including Coca Cola and cosmetic maker Shiseido.

Hirosue’s success of the last couple of years mirrors her huge popularity as one of Japan’s top young stars in the late 1990s, though motherhood took her out of the scene for a year and a half in between. She got her start in 1994 by winning a contest sponsored by skin care brand Clearasil. She found success quickly, appearing in dozens of dramas and movies and debuting as a pop singer in 1997. She surprised everyone when she entered Waseda University in 1999 but ended up leaving without graduating after four years. At the end of 2003, she surprised everyone again when she announced that she was five months pregnant and engaged to Okazawa. But rumors of a split appeared in 2006 and they were living apart by the end of that year. One main reason for the divorce is said to be that they both have successful careers. Okazawa is an established fashion model and has been the poster boy for Nike. His own fashion brand CLS is one of the top names in the hip “Ura-Harajuku” area of Tokyo popular among young people. In January he opened a shop in Taipei which he designed himself.

The world of J-pop has yet another new international dimension. New Zealand-born Jay’Ed (26) is to make his major-label debut in May with the single “Superwoman” on the Toys Factory label. With a Japanese father and Kiwi mother, he traveled often between the two countries before settling in Osaka. When he was 17, he decided to get into music after watching American R&B duo K-Ci and Jojo perform at a local live house. He is described as having a unique sense of rhythm and timing. “Superwoman” goes on sale May 21.

• Talento Ohigashi Megumi (36) has been hospitalized after being hit by a minibus. She was on her way to the NHK studio on Tuesday afternoon when she was hit by the bus making a right turn at a junction. She suffered a broken leg and is expected to need three months to recover. Police say that Ohigashi and the 28-year-old driver gave conflicting statements about the color of the traffic signal at the time, and they are looking for witnesses. Ohigashi started her showbiz career as an unsuccessful idol singer. She married former Kintestsu Buffaloes baseball player Ohkubo Hideaki (38) in 1998 and has since worked as an occasional reporter and commentator.

The Hollywood live-action adaptation of “Dragonball” will be in Japanese theaters in March 2009, a month ahead of its U.S. release. Originally planned for an August 15 U.S. opening, it has been pushed back to April 3, 2009. 20th Century Fox, who have given no explanation for the delay, have had the rights to adapt the hugely successful manga since 2002. Creator Toriyama Akira (52) is working on the new adaptation and the movie is directed by James Wong. Canadian actor Justin Chatwin (25) has the lead role of Son Goku, who follows his grandfather’s dying request to find the great Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat) and gather all seven Dragon Balls in order to prevent Lord Piccolo (James Marsters) from taking over the world. Japanese actress Tamura Eriko (35) plays the villain Mai. The original manga series ran in Weekly Shonen Jump for almost eleven years from 1984. There were also three anime series, seventeen animated feature films and a wide variety of other spinoffs.

• The government announced yesterday that late movie director Ichikawa Kon is to be posthumously awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star. Ichikawa passed away of pneumonia on February 13 at the age of 92. He was previously awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon (1982), Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette (1988), and in 1994 was recognized as a person who has made outstanding cultural contributions.

• Comedian Shibata Hidetsugu of the duo Untouchable, who spent the last few months in hospital, had some good news yesterday when he became a father for the second time. Shibata was hospitalized with acute pneumonia in December and was only released at the end of February. He and his wife married in October 2005 and had a son the following month.

• Also having a second child is talento Kubo Junko (36). She revealed during yesterday’s recording of the Fuji TV show “Uchikuru!?” that she is expecting a baby in mid-August. The former NHK announcer is now a freelancer and regular on a wide variety of shows. She married an advertising executive in 2000 and had her first child in 2002.

• Oscar winner Javier Bardem (39) was in Tokyo yesterday to promote his latest movie, “No Country for Old Men.” The Spanish star won an Academy Award last month as Best Supporting Actor for his role as a relentless killer in the movie, which opens here on March 15.

Musician and producer Ueda Gen died in Tokyo on Sunday evening of lung cancer. He was just 47. Ueda started rock-ska band LÄ-PPISCH in 1986 along with four of his Meiji University friends, and remained with the band until 2002. In addition to his solo career, he was also a producer and songwriter for many other artists. He wrote the music and lyrics for Hajime Chitose‘s smash hit debut single “Wadatsumi no Ki.” He continued to work after he was diagnosed with cancer and began chemotherapy at the end of 2006. LÄ-PPISCH played a revival concert tour last year, but Ueda only appeared for one show, in Tokyo in October. His condition also forced him to pull out of a planned appearance at the Rising Sun Rock Festival. His final public appearance was playing with punk band Kemuri on the Fuji TV “Bokura no Ongaku” show on November 23.

• Actor Karasawa Toshiaki (44) was among yesterday’s recipients of awards presented by the government. The awards, from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, are given out every year in recognition of contributions to the arts. Other winners were screenwriter Mitani Kouki (46), rakugo-ka Tatekawa Shinosuke (54), and movie director Suo Masayuki (51). An established star of TV and movies, Karasawa most recently won acclaim for his lead role in Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus”, directed by Ninagawa Yukio. He described how his wife, actress Yamaguchi Tomoko (43), was so into the play that she flew to London just to watch him on opening night at the Barbican Theatre.

• On their third visit to Japan, American rock band Maroon 5 performed at Nippon Budokan for the first time last night. They performed a 14-song set based mainly around last year’s second album “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long”, which sold about 350,000 copies here. The band is scheduled to play an extra show at the same venue on March 17.