Monthly Archives: November 2009

“Talk Like Singing,” the off-Broadway musical starring SMAP member Katori Shingo (32, photo left), opened in New York at the end of last week. It is the first-ever original Japanese musical to have its premiere in the U.S. With music by composer, DJ and founding member of Pizzicato Five, Konishi Yasuharu, the show was written and produced by comedy hitmaker Mitani Koki (48, photo right). Katori made his international stage debut alongside cast members Jay Kabira, Horiuchi Keiko, and Niiro Shinya. On preview night November 12, the production received a standing ovation at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University. Meanwhile, despite having had a tooth removed just days earlier, Katori himself gave it 90 out of 100. “I’m delighted. The audience gave us a better reception than I had expected.” The 2-hour production is quite a challenge for Katori, who is on stage for 25 of its 28 songs. The show is running from November 13-22, with the other four SMAP members expected to take it in at some point during the next week.

• Actress Oura Mizuki died on Saturday morning of lung cancer at a Tokyo hospital. She was 53. A former top (Takarazuka star, she left the all-female revue in 1991 but continued her acting career on the stage. She dropped out of a musical in January after coming down with pleurisy. While hospitalized, her cancer was diagnosed and she began to undergo treatment. She had been making a recovery and was scheduled to perform a voice role in “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” in Tokyo next January.

• Talento Suzuki Sarina (32) and reggae musician Tela-C held a traditional Shinto wedding ceremony at the Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo on Sunday. The couple registered their marriage back in December 2008 and Suzuki is currently six months pregnant. They plan to honeymoon in Jamaica after the baby is born.

• Actress Yakushimaru Hiroko (45) is to perform a concert in January, her first in 20 years. The former top idol singer will perform one show each in Tokyo and Osaka. The tickets will go on sale for ¥8,940, with the numbers being a pun on her family name. The shows will be combined with a screening of her upcoming movie “Kondo ha Aisaika,” which co-stars Toyokawa Etsushi (47, profile).

12 members of J-pop group Exile were among those performing for the Emperor and Empress at a special concert held last night. The “Kokumin Saiten” was a day-long parade and festival held around the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Emperor’s ascension to the throne. Last night’s concert, featuring both traditional and popular music, was held in a garden in front of the palace and attended by about 30,000 people. Braving the cold on stage to congratulate the royal couple were such showbiz names as veteran actress Mori Mitsuko (89), comedian Hagimoto Kinichi (68) and actresses Tokiwa Takako (37) and Miyazaki Aoi (23). There were also leading sports figures, Nobel prize winners, an astronaut and regional political leaders who thanked the royal couple for their support in times of natural disaters. The crowd waved Hinomaru flags and carried traditional lanterns. Dressed in black velvet 3-piece suits, Exile performed with their backs to the crowd and facing the Emperor and Empress, who came out to watch the finale of the show from the landmark Nijubashi bridge.

Talento Hazama Kampei (60) just managed to crossed the EU in time in the latest leg of his Earth Marathon. The veteran Yoshimoto comedian crossed the border from Hungary into Serbia yesterday, having run across eight European countries since landing in France in mid-August. He traversed the EU in 87 days, just under the 90-day limit for visitors without a visa. An experienced endurance runner, Hazama is seeking to be the first man to run and sail his way around the globe. One of the aims of the journey was to support Tokyo’s bid for the 2016 Olympics in Copenhagen last month, but although he made it to the announcement ceremony the bid failed. He said yesterday – Day 331 – that he is now focusing on getting back to Japan by the end of next year.

• Yoshimoto (profile) and another of its comedians, Imada Koji (43), announced yesterday that they have withdrawn a lawsuit against publisher Kodansha. The lawsuit was filed after a story in the magazine “Shuukan Gendai” in April insinuated that Imada had sexually assaulted a woman. But it was dropped after the magazine published an apology on October 26 and paid Imada ¥5.5 million in damages last week.

The Miyazaki Hayao anime feature “Gake no Ue no Ponyo” (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) has been shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination. Along with the Hollywood CG adaptation of Tezuka Osamu’s “Tetsuwan Atomu” (Astro Boy), it is among the record 20 feature-length animations announced by judges yesterday. The number will be whittled down, probably to five nominees, in February and the winners will be announced at the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7. The competition is strong this year and includes Disney’s “Up,” due for release in Japan in December as “Kaaru Jii-san no Sora Tobu Ie” (Grandpa Karl’s Flying House), and “A Christmas Carol.” But Miyazaki’s anime has been a widespread critical success, and he won Japan’s first ever animation Oscar with “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi” (Spirited Away) in 2003.

• Management for TV Tokyo announcer Otake Sachi (26) and baseball star Aoki Norichika (27, photo right) said the pair got married this week. The couple registered their marriage as soon as Aoki left hospital, where he underwent surgery on both ankles. A career .331 batter, the Yakult Swallows outfielder has been one of Japanese baseball’s most productive hitters in recent years and was a key player in the country’s World Baseball Classic victories in 2006 and 2009. He and Otake were introduced by a mutual friend at the end of 2007 and started dating the following spring. They announced their engagement at the beginning of October, but the happy news didn’t help the Swallows clinch the Central league pennant.

On Tuesday, Softbank Mobile announced their lineup of new models and a major new addition to the “White Family” who appear in their commercials. There have been more than 60 commercials in the series since it started in June 2007, based around characters played by Ueto Aya (Daughter, photo center), Dante Carver (Son, photo left), Higuchi Kanako (Mother) and a white dog as the Father. Joining them will be Quentin Tarantino (46), who did some filming while here to promote his latest movie, “Inglourious Basterds.” That movie stars Brad Pitt (45), who was also in town and has appeared in Softbank TV commercials in the past.

Tarantino will play Uncle Tara-chan, with an image based loosely on the legendary Sakamoto Ryoma. The 19th-century samurai was one of the most prominent figures to embrace western culture and famously carried a Smith and Wesson revolver along with his sword. The image seems to suit Tarantino, the man who brought us the “Kill Bill” movies, perfectly. Asked about working with the director, Ueto said, “I was surprised that he was so fired up. He was really into it and ad-libbed a lot of the samurai moves. Maybe I should ask him to make a Hollywood version of the White Family.” The photo also includes Softbank CEO Son Masayoshi.

Veteran actor Morishige Hisaya died of old age yesterday morning after several months at a Tokyo hospital. He was 96. Born to wealthy parents in Osaka, Morishige started acting in amateur dramatics while a student at Waseda University in the mid-1930s. A stage actor for several years, he later became an announcer for NHK, working in Manchuria before the outbreak of WWII. His movie career began in 1947 and spanned more than 165 films. The 1952 hit “Santo Juyaku” led to a popular movie series starring Morishige as a company president and a sequel series called “Ekimae.” A natural comedian, he appeared in many television series and specials, and he headed the Japan Actors Union from 1982. In 1975 he was the first guest on the afternoon talk show hosted by Kuroyanagi Tetsuko, a show which continues 34 years later. Among his many honors, in 1991 Morishige was the first entertainer outside the field of classical Japanese performing arts to receive the Order of Culture from the Emperor. He suffered a heart attack while in Okinawa in 2002 but recovered. His final acting role was in a TV drama in January 2004.

Hollywood star Brad Pitt (45) filmed his first ever guest appearance on a Japanese variety show on his recent PR trip to Tokyo. He and director Quentin Tarantino (46) were in town last week to promote the movie “Inglourious Basterds” and they fitted in a visit to the Fuji TV show “SMAPxSMAP”. The episode will be aired on Monday, November 16. The Hollywood duo appear on the “Bistro SMAP” segment, with members of the pop group preparing dishes ordered by their guests. Katori Shingo (32) joked that when he feels run down, he watches the Pitt movie “Fight Club,” to which Burapi happily quipped, “Me, too!” He and Tarantino talked about their love for Tokyo and Japan. Pitt has appeared in many TV commercials here, for products such as Edwin jeans and the Softbank mobile phone network. Tarantino paid tribute to the Japanese chambara movie style in his “Kill Bill” movies. “Inglorious…” is scheduled for release in Japan on the 20th.

Less than 9 months after her drug trial, former talento Komukai Minako (24) is to release an appropriately titled debut single this week. Arrested in January for use of amphetamines, she received a an 18-month sentence, suspended for three years, at the end of February. The sentence is the same as that handed down yesterday to former top idol singer Sakai Noriko (38), so Komukai’s move back into the showbiz limelight is likely to be watched closely. She had a controversial run at the Rock-za strip theater in June, with her former management agency using the courts in an effort to stop her from appearing. She made her first TV appearance following the scandal on a Beat Takeshi-hosted variety show in August. And tomorrow sees the online release of the single “I Am Scandal.” Sources say Komukai plans to return to the Rock-za and work mainly as a stripper.
Earlier story:
The Fall of the Bikini Model

• Rock band Bon Jovi are the first western act to have five No.1’s on the Oricon album chart. Their 11th original album, “The Circle,” sold 67,000 copies in its first week to top the chart. The band released a short statement thanking their Japanese fans.

Former top idol singer Sakai Noriko (38) received her verdict in the drug case that has gripped the country for the last few months. At the Tokyo District Court this morning, judge Murayama Hiroaki handed her an 18-month sentence, suspended for 3 years for possession and use of amphetamines. The period of the suspended sentence was shorter than the 5 years given to actor Oshio Manabu (31) last week. Sakai’s husband, Takaso Yuichi, is also on trial on the same charges and is due to receive his verdict later this month. Sakai arrived in court today dressed in suitably sober black from head to toe. The judge told her, “You have played various roles in dramas, but unfortunately this case is reality. I hope you will be able to carry the burden (of this crime) and restart your life.” After giving his verdict the judge asked Sakai to repeat it. He prompted once more when she initially hesitated, until she was able to do so clearly.

• Singer Ko Biho died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on Saturday. She was 82. A Chinese national born in Wakayama Prefecture, she became a popular star of the postwar period. She made her showbiz debut in the 1951 movie “Shanghai Gaeri no Riru.” From 1952 on she had a series of hits with reworked versions of songs from during the war. She converted to Christianity in 1974 and became a gospel singer, performing at churches and welfare centers across the country.

With an announcement not quite in keeping with their wild rock image, the band Maximum the Hormone said today they are taking an extended break from performing. The reason? Drummer Nao (33) has been told by doctors that the band’s style and schedule is harmful for both her and her unborn baby. Nao, who got married at the end of last year, found out she was pregnant in early September. At the time she said she wanted to meet previously scheduled performing salicylate-meds.com, but after she was taken by ambulance from a concert on Tuesday doctor’s said that the health of both mother and child was under threat. The band decided it was time to take a break and have indefinitely postponed two shows next week in Saga Prefecture. They have also pulled out of next February’s “Soundwave Festival 2010.”

Management for former soccer star Honda Yasuto (40) announced that he and model Takaoka Yumiko (34) are divorced. Honda initiated the divorce papers, which Takaoka filed at a municipal office yesterday. She has custody of their 7-year-old daughter. The divorce was by mutual consent so there is no alimony involved. A former Japan international who played for Kashima Antlers from the early 1990s, Honda retired in 2006 as the longest serving of the original J-League players. Beloved by Kashima fans, he took pride in the fact that he was widely hated by supporters of other teams and regarded as a dirty player. He is now a soccer commentator and adviser to Kashima. He and Takaoka married in 2000, but she will have to do something about her official blog, which has a prominent photo of her in her bridal dress and is titled “Hondake no Yome” (Bride of the Honda Family). She is the younger sister of popular actress Takaoka Saki (36), who divorced actor Hosaka Naoki (41) in 2004.

Romance has bloomed between actress Hirayama Aya (25, photo top left) and Johnny’s Jimusho singer Takaki Yuya (19, bottom left), according to today’s issue of weekly magazine “Friday.” The two appeared together in the drama series “Gokusen” in the spring of 2008 and are thought to have started dating last autumn. Management for both stars have denied anything other than friendship between the two. Takaki is a member of the group Hey! Say! Jump!

• Singer Kuroki Ken Jr. (43, photo right) and freelance announcer Nakao Miho (38, photo right) got married last month, it was revealed yesterday. Kuroki’s father was a popular ballad singer in the 1960s, who had a major hit with “Kiri ni Musebu Yoru” in 1968.