Yearly Archives: 2009

The PR campaign for this year’s Kohaku is picking up steam. NHK is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its annual New Year’s Eve song contest “Kohaku Uta Gassen” and wanted to get some big names on the bill. As we previously reported, they have singer-actor Fukuyama Masaharu, who will appear via satellite hookup from Kochi. That’s the hometown of the legendary samurai Sakamoto Ryoma, the role Fukuyama will play from January in the year-long taiga drama series on the public network. They also have reunited folk group Alice, who’ll be on the show for the first time in nine years. And over the weekend, NHK announced the artists who’ll be making their debut on the show.

But the biggest name is that of Arashi (photo left), the Johnny’s Jimusho idol group who are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. The invitation will culminate a great year for Arashi (translates as “storm”), who have the two best-selling singles of 2009, a million-selling greatest hits album, and whose five members are in movies and all over the TV schedule. With SMAP appearing on Kohaku for the 17th time, Tokio for the 16th, and newcomers NYC Boys, there will be four Johnny’s acts on the bill for the first time in 21 years. SMAP member Nakai Masahiro will again be co-presenter with actress Nakama Yukie.

The other debutants this year are: Remiromen, Flumpool, Funky Monkey Babys, Kimura Kaela and Mizuki Nana. Kamiji Yusuke will appear solo, though he was a member of the trio Shuchishin last year. Meanwhile, pop group Exile will follow up their recent performance for the Emperor with their fifth Kohaku appearance. But they have a long way to go before they catch up with the likes of Wada Akiko (33rd time), Mori Shinichi (42nd) or Kitajima Saburo (46th).

• Japan has lost another of its greatest postwar lyricists. Oka Toshio (photo right) died of kidney failure last night at a Tokyo hospital. He was 92. He took up a writing career at the age of 18 and became a reporter for the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper in 1942. After WWII he joined Nippon Columbia as a lyricist. Over the next three decades he turned out dozens of hits including “Koukou Sannensei” and “Tokyo no Bus Girl.” He also wrote the popular children’s song “Neko Funjatta” and the themes to several popular anime. He was honored with an Order of the Sacred Treasure medal from the Emperor in 1988.

Playboy kabuki star Ichikawa Ebizo (31) is on the verge of finally settling down. He and freelance newscaster Kobayashi Mao (27) spoke yesterday for the first time about their relationship and said they plan to get engaged in the near future. Ichikawa spoke to reporters in front of his home in Tokyo shortly before 11pm last night. “When I first met her last December I had a feeling this would be the person I would be with.” He said he proposed at the end of June, adding “I will love her forever.” Renowned as a playboy after relationships with such actresses as Yonekura Ryoko (34), Sato Eriko (27) and Takaoka Saki (36), he refused to be taunted when a reporter asked, “Is it time to pay the piper?” He replied by saying simply, “She’s a wonderful person, so I guess it is.”

Meanwhile Kobayashi was the one who started the media buzzing with a brief mention at a PR event yesterday afternoon, before making a formal announcement on the TBS “News Zero” show last night. She first met Ichikawa while interviewing him for the show on the subject of “an encounter that changed your life.” An ardent kabuki fan, she watched Ichikawa perform every night for a week after that interview and is a regular visitor to the Kabukiza theater in Tokyo. The speed of the marriage plans has caused the usual speculation as to whether Kobayashi is pregnant but it’s been reported that she’s not. Ichikawa’s father, Danjuro XII (who previously performed under the Ebizo stage name), is performing this month and both father and son have performances scheduled for January, so a formal engagement is likely to be held in December.

Ichikawa, formally Ebizo XI, is one of the “princes” of kabuki, coming from a long theatrical lineage. Together with other handsome young stars such as Nakamura Shido, he has helped keep kabuki popular with younger audiences. They regularly appear in movies and TV dramas – Ichikawa played the lead in NHK’s yearlong taiga drama series “Musashi” in 2003. And their off-stage antics have helped keep them in the gossip columns.

Kobayashi, on the recommendation of her older sister Maya (30), also a freelance TV announcer, first made a name for herself on the Sanma-hosted NTV variety show “Koi no Karasawagi” while a student at Sophia University. She became a weather reporter for Fuji TV in 2003 and the following year had a part in a late-night drama. From 2005 she started appearing regularly in dramas on several networks. She joined the News Zero team when the show was launched in October 2006.

Management for actress Itoh Misaki (32) announced yesterday that she got married to Enomoto Yoshinori (42), CEO of major pachinko company Kyoraku Sangyo. Two met last November when they were bridesmaid and best man at the Hawaii wedding of talento Uematsu Mami (32), and started dating in January. They plan to also tie the knot in Hawaii, with a church wedding and reception planned for Oahu on November 24. Yesterday, after they visited Itoh’s family home in Fukushima Prefecture, Enomoto registered their marriage at the municipal office. Itoh became one of the most widely seen faces in Japan a few years ago after appearing in successful TV dramas and movies such as “Densha Otoko” and “Umineko” and a seemingly endless string of TV commercials. She has no drama roles scheduled for the rest of this year but is said to be planning to continue her acting career. In 1988 Enomoto entered the pachinko business started by his father in 1952. He was made a director in 1998, vice-president in 2005, and he took over the business in 2006.

Sakai Noriko (38) started to get her life back on track yesterday, ten days after she was found guilty on charges of drug possession and use and received a 3-year suspended sentence. Sakai, described in the media these days as a “former actress,” visited the campus of Souzou Gakuen University in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, where she has enrolled in the social work department. She toured the campus, about an hour north of Tokyo on the shinkansen, chatting with other students and even enjoying a tea ceremony in the school’s tearoom. She was soberly but fashionably dressed in dark blue and her hair, which was black for her trial last week, was again dyed brown. She was accompanied by an entourage that included Aizawa Masahisa (60), the former president of her management company, Sun Music, who demoted himself from the post over the scandal. Aizawa has been like a substitute father for Sakai since recruiting her as a teenager. Speaking on her behalf yesterday he said, “We had planned for her to attend the school about once a month, but from December on she will be focusing on online learning.” He added, “She is smiling like she’s just returned to her school days.”

• Singer-actor Fukuyama Masaharu (40) has been named to the lineup for this year’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen.” It will be his second appearance on NHK’s annual New Year’s Eve concert, and the first since he sang “melody” in 1993. The appearance is undoubtedly tied to the fact that Fukuyama is playing the lead role in next year’s taiga drama. In the 2010 yearlong historical drama series, “Ryomaden,” he will play the legendary 19th century samurai Sakamoto Ryoma. Usually the following year’s taiga star appears on Kohaku as a judge, and in fact Fukuyama will be the first solo artist to do so as a performer. His popularity is such that an on-stage appearance is likely to give the show a needed ratings boost. In his 20th anniversary year, he performed at Nippon Budokan for the first time; went on a 4-month nationwide concert tour; released two singles in the same year for the first time since 2000; and released his first original album since 2001.

Singer Moritomo Arashi is making a comeback 10 years after the breakup of one of the country’s major rock bands. The former vocalist of defunct rock band T-Bolan, Morimoto (44) said yesterday that he is releasing a solo single later this month. “Kizuna,” due out on November 26, is his first release since T-Bolan split up at the end of 1999. At the time, the band members said the split was due to musical differences, but then Moritomo revealed that he was suffering from psychogenic dysphonia. The medical disorder is a loss of voice caused by stress or emotional trauma. Moritomo underwent a couple of years of rehabilitation before becoming a radio presenter in 2001. In August 2006, he sang the national anthem before a hugely anticipated WBA boxing world title match that drew a TV audience rating of over 41%. He is scheduled to perform for 2,000 lottery winners at a “fan meeting” in Shibuya, Tokyo on Christmas Day. The roots of T-Bolan go back to 1987 and the band made their major label debut in 1991 with the single “Kanashimi wa Itaiyo.” They followed that up with a string of hits and had combined single and album sales of over 15 million. Their final live performance was in Osaka in 1996.

• Rakugo-ka Shunputei Shocho (56, photo right) was arrested in September for filming up a woman’s skirt with his mobile phone while riding an escalator in the Tokyo district of Shinjuku, it was revealed yesterday. Officially he has been said to be off sick since missing a performance on September 12. Shunputei entered the world of rakugo, traditional comic storytelling, while a student at Meiji University in 1975. He progressed rapidly through the ranks and became a headliner in 1985.

Just how popular is Johnny’s heartthrob Yamashita Tomohisa (24) right now? Well the media are making a lot of the fact that he already has another prime time drama scheduled for January, just two seasons after his latest headliner. He played the lead role of a basketball player in the summer Fuji TV drama series “Buzzer Beat – Gakepuchi no Hero,” which aired in the “golden” Monday 9pm time slot. Oguri Shun now occupies the autumn slot with the drama “Tokyo Dogs,” but will hand over to the second series of Fuji’s “Code Blue – Doctor Heli Kinkyu-kyumei” in January. This is described as the first time it has happened since the time slot became a fixture for the most popular drama series in 1987. And the return of Code Blue, in which “Yama-P” plays a medical helicopter pilot cadet, is in itself an indication of the popularity of its star. The show also has some hot young female stars, including Aragaki Yui (21), Toda Erika (21), and Higa Manami (23). But perhaps the biggest indicator of Yama-P’s popularity is the fact that his image barely appears on the Fuji website for the show. A Google search reveals only distorted images from the original series or scans of DVD covers and the like. That’s how protective Johnnys are of their hottest properties.

Shiina Ringo (30) is one of the more talented singer-songwriters in Japanese pop. With a strong independent spirit, she has maintained a rare non-populist and uncommercial approach to her career as a solo artist and as vocalist of the band Tokyo Jihen. Until now. From today she is appearing in her first ever TV commercial, for the Glico product Watering Kiss Mint gum. She doesn’t speak in the CM but does a neat bit of moonwalking, and it features the latest Tokyo Jihen song “Nodoteki Sanpunkan.”

Watch the CM here.

“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.