Popular fashion model Michibata Jessica (24) and British Formula One racing driver Jensen Button (29) are an item, according to today’s issue of the weekly magazine “Friday.” The magazine includes photos of the couple on a date last week at a Japanese restaurant in London. Last June, Michibata was romantically linked with DJ and musician Ohsawa Shinichi (41), but sources say they have since split up. Michibata, whose father is half-Argentine, half-Italian, and whose mother is Japanese, has been modeling since she was a child. She is the middle of three sisters, all of whom are fashion models. Jensen was with the Honda racing team last year, but they have announced their withdrawal from the F-1 circuit. The last big romance between a Japanese star and an F-1 driver saw popular actress Kumiko Goto (34) marry Frenchman Jean Alesi (44) in the mid-1990s.
• Pop duo Chage and Aska are taking an indefinite break from performing together. The pair made the formal announcement yesterday, after rumors circulated in the media that they were splitting up for good. They last performed together on Christmas Eve 2007 and have since been pursuing solo careers. Known as ChageAsu, the duo released their debut single in 1979 and became one of the best-selling J-pop acts of the 1980s and 90s, with such major hits as “Say Yes” and “Yah, Yah, Yah.”
• It was revealed yesterday that Shock Eye (32) of the reggae group Shonan no Kaze is getting married today. His new bride is described as younger and not in showbusiness. The couple are said to have been dating for the last nine years. Shonan no Kaze are to release a new single on February 25 – “Shinyu Yo” is the theme for the movie “Doroppu,” the directorial debut of comedian Shinagawa Hiroshi (36). The group will be touring from April.
• Meanwhile, actress Nomura Mami (44) chose her blog as the place to announce her recent marriage. She said she and her new husband, a TV producer (42), tied the knot on January 6 after a relationship of five years.
Musician turned actor and fashion designer Oguchi Hiroshi died of cancer at a Tokyo hospital on Sunday night. He was 58. He first found fame as the drummer of 60s band The Tempters. The band were one of the leaders of the so-called Group Sounds movement and had a string of hits, including “Kamisama Onegai” and “Emerald no Densetsu.” After the band split in 1971, Oguchi and other members joined with singer Sawada Kenji (60) to form the supergroup PYG. Oguchi later focused on acting, appearing in such movies as “Kita no Zeronen” and “Nihon Chinbotsu.” He married actress Shingyoji Kimie (49) in 1983, watched his fashion company go bankrupt in 1991, and published a book of nude photos of his wife in 1997. They divorced in 2005 and Oguchi married an acquaintance of his ex-wife the following year. Sources say that Oguchi, a heavy smoker and drinker, had battled C-type hepatitis for several years and was undergoing treatment to prevent it leading to liver cancer. But when his health deteriorated about a year ago, tests revealed that cancer had developed. He was in and out of hospital throughout 2008 but was well enough to put on an exhibition of his art in December. His condition worsened suddenly on 
Former pinup girl Komukai Minako (23) has been arrested for possession of stimulant drugs, following an investigation last summer into a former boyfriend. He told police that they had used drugs together and they began their search for her. She has no fixed address and police couldn’t locate her until an officer spotted her in a miniskirt on a freezing cold Roppongi street last Thursday night. She has denied any knowledge of the drugs. The former boyfriend has been missing since he was released on bail. Komukai made her debut at the age of 15 and became popular on the bikini model circuit. She went on a diet in an effort to switch careers to acting after she turned 20, but she was struggling with physical and mental health problems. Last September her management agency let her go, saying she was in no condition to fulfill her contractual obligations. As a result, Komukai also lost the Tokyo apartment the agency had provided her. Last November, she was interviewed by a weekly magazine and broke an industry taboo when she spoke about the plastic surgery and virtual prostitution that is pervasive in the “
Talento Yamamoto Mona (32) finally returned to work yesterday. Ending a forced leave of absence since an affair with a married baseball star was revealed last July, she appeared in her old live radio slot, supporting Ohtake Makoto (59) on his weekday afternoon live radio show on Bunka Housou. She spoke for about 18 minutes at the start of the show and apologized to listeners, fans and those involved. About 100 emails and faxes arrived during the show, with some 80% of them being supportive of Yamamoto. 10% said she shouldn’t have been allowed back on the show, while the other 10% were upset about the departure of talento Nakajima Miwako (32), her replacement for the last six months. The radio network initially refused to allow the media in to interview Yamamoto after the show, but her management agency decided to let her talk to reporters. She said she hopes to return to her busy TV schedule as soon as offers of work arrive. She was also clear about one thing – she understands that after two strikes, a third similar scandal would mean the end of her showbiz career. Her previous affairs were with a National Diet politician in and Yomiuri Giants player Nioka Tomohiro (32), who since transferred to the Nippon Ham Fighters.
It seems that singer Kahara Tomomi (34) is still battling her demons. It was revealed yesterday that she was taken to a Tokyo hospital last weekend after a suspected drug overdose. She got into a taxi at Kinshicho station about 3am on Saturday but was too incoherent to give any directions to the driver. He took her to the nearest police station, where they called for an ambulance. Kahara told police she had taken an overdose of prescription tranquilizers and doctors diagnosed her as having a mild case of acute medicinal poisoning. One of the top J-pop performers of the mid-1990s, Kahara’s downward spiral started after her romantic relationship with producer Komuro Tetsuya (50) ended. She tried to gas herself at home in January 1999 and a few months later was found collapsed outside her home. There were signs of a comeback a few years ago but she proved to be unstable and was let go by her management agency in June 2007.
Happier news for actress Sawajiri Erika (22) and “hypermedia creator” Takashiro Tsuyoshi (44), who held a traditional wedding ceremony at Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo yesterday. About 1,000 fans and onlookers clambered for a look at the couple, who made use of a corridor inside the shrine’s main building rather than the usual pathway outside. Both families had placed restrictions on media access and there were about the same number of security staff as usually handle the popular sumo-related events that take place at the shrine. After the ceremony a group of ten men, some clearly bodybuilders, wearing Erika-sama masks appeared at the shrine, though what their purpose was remains a mystery. When reporters asked if they were fans, they replied simply “Betsu ni,” the notorious phrase used by the actress during a grumpy PR appearance in 2007.
It seems that Osaka District Court prosecutors are not going to let the Haga Kenji case go away quietly. The home of a key witness in the case was recently searched and the man questioned, it was revealed yesterday. A former popular talento and renowned playboy but with a history of financial problems, Haga (47, photo left) was arrested in 2007 and tried last year on charges of fraud and attempted extortion. He was accused of selling unlisted shares in a medical consultancy to a business acquaintance at a hugely inflated price. He and his fellow defendant, former world boxing champion Watanabe Jiro (53, photo right), were also accused of making threats of violence against the man when he sought his money back after the company folded. Both men were widely expected to receive prison sentences. But in a surprise development, and a rare judgment for a Japanese court, they were found innocent of all charges last November. The judge said the main reason for the acquittal was doubts about the reliability of the plaintiff’s testimony. Those doubts resulted from the evidence given by a witness for the defense, a former dentist and friend of Haga. He said he had spoken to the plaintiff and questioned whether he should buy the shares at such an inflated price but was told that the investment would more than pay off once the company went public. This revelation that the plaintiff was aware of the true value of the shares ultimately undermined the whole case. Osaka prosecutors visited the former dentist’s home and he voluntarily submitted to questioning.
The trial of actor Shimizu Kentaro (56) began with a surprise yesterday at the Tokyo District Court. Prosecutors are seeking a 10-month prison sentence for a hit and run incident in October of last year, which led to Shimizu’s latest arrest. They brought up another traffic accident dating back to 1973, before he began his acting career, in which a woman died and Shimizu was fined for professional negligence. Four other arrests have been for drug-related offenses. In an effort to present the actor in a better light, his lawyers called a woman to the witness stand. Described by the Sankei Sports newspaper as a “long-haired beauty of 36” she pleaded with the judge to let Shimizu off with a fine, adding that they are living together and plan to get married. She is said to have paid the ¥3-million bail in the current case. Shimizu has been married and divorced twice, to an American model (1985-91) and actress Mori Kanako (2002-04). His first drug arrest put an end to a blossoming singing career and the third in 1994 led to an 18-month prison sentence. Support from friends in the V Cinema (direct to video) industry helped him make a comeback, usually playing the role of a yakuza gang boss such as in the “Don e no Michi” series. But yet another drug arrest, shortly after his divorce from Mori in 2004, led to a prison sentence of two years and four months. But his cult following is such that he formally relaunched his career at the beginning of last year.