Yearly Archives: 2009

Negishi Kichitaro (59) has won the best director award at the 33rd Montreal World Film Festival for the film “Viyon no Tsuma” (Villon’s Wife), distributor Toho Co. announced today. The Film Festival focuses on various kinds of films from all over the world but features few if any produced in Hollywood. The directorial awards marks a second consecutive good showing by Japanese movies at the event – last year, the film “Okuribito” (Departures) won the grand prize. Based on several short stories by the famous Dazai Osamu (1909-1948), “Viyon no Tsuma” was made in commemoration of this year’s 100th anniversary of his birth. With a strong cast led by Matsu Takako and Asano Tadanobu, the movie tells the story of the wife of a novelist who leads a catastrophic life. It is scheduled for release in theaters here on October 10.

It seems it just wasn’t to be after all for singer Tamaki Koji (50) and actress Ishihara Mari (45). Their long and strange relationship, which saw them finally married in February, is rumored to have ended. A spokesperson for Tamaki’s management agency said on Saturday, “I’ve heard they split up, but we don’t know any more than that.” Ishihara said on her blog, “Only the two of us know the truth of the recent story and we are not prepared to talk to the media.” The couple registered their marriage in February, some 24 years after their relationship began. Back in the early 1980s when he was a huge star, Tamaki was married but became besotted with the young Ishihara, sending her a set of red underwear as a sign of his love. Their affair was exposed in the media in 1985, and Tamaki divorced the following year but the couple broke up soon afterwards. Over the years, Ishihara had relationships with a host of celebrities, but largely disappeared from Japanese show business. She was back in the limelight in 2006, when in her autobiography she broke a showbiz taboo by naming many of those celebrities. About a fifth of the book was about her relationship with Tamaki, and she went into great detail about how she contemplated suicide when their affair was exposed. She also revealed that in February 1986 she was hospitalized for more than a month with a broken vertebra after he had beaten her. The book was later made into a movie. Ishihara changed her stage name from Mariko to Mari earlier this year. One of Japan’s most recognizable music stars, Tamaki formed the rock band Anzen Chitai in 1973, though it wasn’t until the early 80s that they had their major record label debut and achieved stardom.

Actress Fujiwara Norika (38, profile) has been busy getting herself back in the game since her divorce from comedian Jinnai Takanori (36) in the spring. She was recently featured in some particularly revealing “Cabaret” style photos, but we can assume that she will be dressed a bit differently for an upcoming TV role announced yesterday. In her first TV drama series appearance in two years she’ll have the starring role as a gynecologist in NTV’s “Gyne – Sanfujinka no Onnatachi.” The role is described as a serious, even cold-hearted one, and Fujiwara is said to be getting into it. As part of her preparation, she recently attended a birth by cesarean section. A producer of the series said, “This could well be the role that defines her career.” The strong cast also includes Itaya Yuka (34, photo left), Matsushita Yuki (41, photo right), Nakamura Hashinosuke (44) and Yashima Norito (38). The series will air on Wednesday nights from next month.

Earlier story:

Jinnai, Fujiwara Marriage to End After 2 Years (Mar. 19, 2009)

• Well, we’re into September and I saw my first Christmas tree of the year the other day, so it must be time for…Kohaku Uta Gassen announcements. NHK’s annual New Year’s Eve concert may not be the compulsory viewing it once was but it’s still one of the TV highlights of the year. And, always in search of a new gimmick, this year NHK have decided to start five minutes earlier than last year. So starting at 7:15pm and ending at 11:45pm, with a five-minute news break, the 60th edition of the show will be the longest yet. The theme for this year’s show is “the infinite power of song.”

Hollywood star Hugh Jackman (40) was in Tokyo yesterday for the Japan premiere of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Local guests at the event included actress Kawashima Naomi (48) and actor Sato Ryuta (29). As Japan is said to have been decided as the location for the next X-Men movie, Sato made sure to put his bid in for a role.

Veteran Yoshimoto Kogyo (profile) duo Comedy No.1 have split up after performing together for 41 years. The decision was announced yesterday, several days after the duo had discussed their future. Sakata Toshio (67, photo left), the boke or funny man of the duo, is to go solo. Popularly known as “Aho no Sakata” (Sakata the Idiot) he vowed to be “I will work hard to be known as the No.1 idiot in Japan.” But the split most likely brings an end to the career of Maeda Goro (67, photo right), the duo’s tsukkomi or straight man. He’s been on sabbatical since May, when the handwriting in threatening letters sent to fellow Yoshimoto comedian Nakata Kausu (60) was found to be very similar to Maeda’s and he was questioned by police. Nakata, who in 2007 was rumored to be linked to a yakuza crime syndicate, was also the target of a violent attack back in January. Maeda has denied any involvement in either incident. A popular comedian, Nakata is known for his sharp tongue and the most common target of his verbal jabs in Sakata.

• Pro fighter Yamamoto “Kid” Norifumi (32) and model Malia (26) have divorced, they announced on their respective blogs yesterday. Yamamoto said that the blame lay entirely with him, that he had been too focused on hanging out with his friends while his wife was left to raise their three children. He added that he still only has eyes for his ex and hopes they will re-marry someday.

• Trial dates have been set for the two major ongoing celebrity drug cases. Takaso Yuichi (41), the husband of actress/singer Sakai Noriko, is set to appear at the Tokyo District Court on October 21. He is charged with both possession and use of amphetamines. A trial date has yet to be set for Sakai (38), who as yet has been charged only with possession. The couple are also thought likely to face each other in court in what would probably be an acrimonious divorce. Meanwhile, actor Oshio Manabu (31), released on bail on Monday, will be in court on October 23. At the moment he is charged only with the use of MDMA (ecstasy) and not in relation to the death of the woman he was with at the time.

The father and son who built Sun Music Production into a major talent management agency are stepping down from their posts as a sign of repentance. The decision, announced at a hastily arranged press conference yesterday by president Aizawa Masahisa (60), comes in the wake of the recent scandal caused by the drug arrest of top star Sakai Noriko. Aizawa will become company vice-president, while his father and company chairman Hideyoshi (79) will be an advisor. Both men and other company directors will also take salary cuts. Aizawa Snr. established the company in 1967 and his son took over in 2004. He became a substitute father figure for Sakai after her own father died shortly after she became a star. Sun Music moulded her first into a top idol singer and, after her marriage in 1998, into a squeaky clean Mama-san role model – an image shattered by her arrest. Aizawa Jnr. gave repeated pres conferences when Sakai was on the run and said he had no clue about her drug habit. Sun Music has launched the careers of other such stars as singer Matsuda Seiko, actress Adachi Yumi, comedian Kojima Yoshio, talento Becky, and actor turned Chiba Prefectural governor Morita Kensaku.

Related story:

Noripi Taken to Court (Aug. 10, 2009)

• Two Johnny’s Jimusho stars are the latest celebrities to be laid low by influenza. Yamashita Tomohisa (24, top right) and Nishikido Ryo (24, bottom right), both members of the pop group NEWS, were both diagnosed with the flu and have been forced to take a break from filming TV drama series. Yamashita is the star of the TBS basketball series “Buzzer Beat – Gakeppuchi no Hero,” while Nishikido is filming “Orutorosu no Inu” for Fuji TV. NEWS were among the main presenters of NTV’s 24-hour telethon over the weekend, which no doubt both worsened their condition and helped the virus spread among the many people who appeared on the live broadcast.

As actor Oshio Manabu (31) was released on bail yesterday, the media was critical of both his attitude and his dress sense. Though he has only been charged with drug use, his case involves the death of the woman with whom he took the drugs, so he is expected to show a degree of remorse in keeping with the gravity of the case. But when he left the Mita police station yesterday evening, he was casually dressed in a plaid shirt, khaki pants and – shock! – sandals. He bowed deeply and gave a brief statement of apology to the assembled reporters, but refused to answer any questions before being bundled into a waiting car. That car then led dozens of reporters and paparazzi on a 4-hour, 110km “chase” through the streets and expressways of the capital. It wasn’t until the car arrived at the home of Oshio’s lawyer that reporters confirmed that Oshio had been the person who hopped out at Kotake-mukaihara station and taken the subway.

Earlier stories:

Oshio Manabu Faces Drug Arrest (Aug. 4, 2009)

Yada Akiko Divorces Oshio Manabu (Aug. 8, 2009)

• It’s hardly a surprise that the latest single from SMAP (profile) is yet another No.1. “Sotto, Kyutto/Superstar” has sold 105,000 copies in its first week of release, helped by its tie-in with the Kusanagi Tsuyoshi Fuji TV drama series “Jinkyo Helper.” It’s the group’s 11th consecutive chart topper since “Freebird” in May 2002, and their 22nd in all. All 44 of their single releases have made the Top 10, tying for the record with J-pop queen Hamasaki Ayumi (30).

Though the national election (and Minshuto’s historic landslide victory) was the real story of the weekend, on the entertainment side the big show was NTV’s 24-hour charity telethon. The main event of the annual show is an endurance run by a celebrity, with their arrival at the studio timed to bring the show to a climax. This year it was the turn of up-and-coming talento Imoto Ayako (23, photo left), who faced the grueling task of running three full marathons in 24 hours. But by the time of her arrival at the Tokyo Big Site studio at 9:12pm, the show had been over for 15 minutes and the network had switched to live coverage of the election results. They briefly showed a video of Imoto’s arrival and tearful reception from the assembled celebrities. To be fair to Imoto, she approached the capital at the same time as Typhoon No.11, and the wind and rain washed away her trademark thick eyebrows. The 126.585km she ran in 26 hours and five minutes beat the 113km record for a female runner set last year by comedienne Edo Harumi.

• Actor Karato Ryo (44) was recently arrested for a drunken outburst at a Saga Prefecture police station, it was revealed at the weekend. Best known for his role as Kamen Rider G4 in a 2001 movie, Karato kicked in the glass door of the station in Otsu City at around 2am on August 23. He acknowledged the offense, saying that he was very drunk at the time, and was released the next day. According to his management agency, Karato is a licensed kick boxer. And of course the masked Kamen Rider action heroes are known for their famous Rider Kick (photo top right).

• Following his prosecution for drug use, actor Oshio Manabu (32) is to be released on bail this morning. Though prosecutors challenged the decision, saying Oshio had repeatedly changed his testimony and tried to conceal evidence, the Tokyo District Court approved the bail last Friday. The ¥4 million in bail money has been paid by an entrepreneur friend of the actor, who is said to be planning to live at his father’s apartment in the western Tokyo suburb of Tama.

• Sun Music have said they will bear the financial burden caused by the recent drug arrest of actress/singer Sakai Noriko (38). The management company released Sakai last week as she faced prosecution for possession of amphetamines. But CEO Aizawa Masahisa (60) says that the company will take responsibility for compensating commercial sponsors, record companies and others who have suffered financial losses totaling around ¥500 million. Sakai’s fee for commercial appearances were around ¥30-40 million, and she had two at the time of her arrest earlier this month (Toyota and pharmaceutical company Arax). Victor Entertainment have shelved the September release of a greatest hits CD and DVD, at a loss of about ¥50 million each. Sakai starred in a movie made as PR for the new lay jury system, and about 190,000 copies have been withdrawn from regional courtrooms and legal office nationwide at an estimated cost of ¥70 million. The biggest loss is thought to have been incurred by trading company Itochu, who handled Sakai’s fashion brand “PP rikorino.” They removed a range of some 150 items from stores at a loss of about ¥250 million.

• Popular rock band Ulfuls played what might be their last ever concerts at the weekend. The band, who announced in July that they were taking an indefinite break, played two shows for 36,000 fans in Osaka at the memorial park of the 1970 World Expo. They performed 25 songs, including their biggest hits “Guts da ze!!” and “Banzai – Suki de Yokatta.” Those songs helped the quartet, formed in 1988, make a breakthrough in the mid-1990s. They remained popular largely due to their charismatic frontman Tortoise Matsumoto (42, photo bottom right), who released his first original solo album last month.

Comedian-turned-director Matsumoto Hitoshi (45, profile) appeared at a special preview screening of his latest movie yesterday. He appeared on stage at the Piccadilly cinema in central Tokyo in the same wig and polka dot pajamas his character wears in “Shinboru,” and introduced himself as the “charismatic comedian Matsumoto.” It was revealed that the movie, the first since his debut “Dai Nipponjin” in 2007, will be entered at the International Film Festivals in Toronto (September 10-19) and Pusan, South Korea (October 8-16). The movie is scheduled to open in theaters here on September 12. Asked if he planned to attend the Pusan event, he said “That’s the time when ‘this’ will be appearing, so it’s not good timing,” referring to the fact that his wife is expecting their first baby in October. Matsumoto and former talento Ihara Rin (26) got married in May.

The IMDB website has the following summary of Shinboru: “A Japanese man wakes up alone in a brightly illuminated white room with no windows or doors. When he presses a mysteriously phallic protuberance that appears on one wall, a pink toothbrush materializes from nowhere, clattering to the floor and setting in motion a genuinely bizarre chain of events. Soon the imprisoned man is engaged in absurd and hilarious attempts to escape the gleaming room, releasing random objects from the walls, creating a life sized mouse trap game in which a rope, a toilet plunger and an earthenware jug full of sushi might just be the keys to his escape. Meanwhile, in a dusty town, a green masked Mexican wrestler known as Escargot Man prepares for an important match. His family gathers around him, worried about his seeming impassivity before battle.”

Threats of a bomb attack against a popular celebrity were posted on the Japanese version of Wikipedia, according to a police statement issued today. The poster wrote that a hand grenade would used to kill people at a concert featuring talento Ueto Aya (23) on August 31. Ueto is scheduled to perform at the “Happy Magic” event at Zepp Tokyo on that date, her first concert in about two years. Police at the nearby Tokyo Wangan Station issued a warning to organizers and requested that security be beefed up for the event. They are also investigating the incident as a possible criminal case. Such online abuse is common Wikipedia, which allows anyone to update it’s millions of information pages. The organization has recently begun looking at enforcing a change that would require editorial approval for all changes to pages about living people. A popular actress in TV dramas and commercials, Ueto is a former idol singer who is most often seen these days as the face of the Softbank mobile phone network (photo: Ueto and Softbank CEO Son Masayoshi).

Japan’s only African-American enka singer kicked off his first nationwide concert tour this week and played Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo last night. Jero (27) has some support from fellow enka stars Fuji Atako (48) and Sakamoto Fuyumi (42) as he performed a 21-song set for 2,000 fans. He wore a white suit set off as usual with a black baseball cap. The tour will take in 35 venues and continue until December 2. jero will also be making many in-store appearances in support of his upcoming album, “Covers2,” due for release September 23. The first single, “Tsumeato,” went on sale August 19.

• The line “I bought from a foreigner” is almost a cliche of drug arrest reports, but it seems that at least in the case of actress/singer Sakai Noriko (photo top right) and her husband, it’s true. Among the numbers stored on the phone of an Iranian arrested earlier this year, police found that of Takaso Yuichi, Sakai’s husband arrested August 3 for possession of amphetamines. Meanwhile, the latest issue of weekly magazine “Shuukan Shincho” has details of Sakai’s turbulent early life, provided by the first of two step-mothers. Born to a yakuza father, she was abandoned as a baby when her mother eloped with a younger man. With her father in prison at the time, she was left at a temple in her father’s home prefecture of Saga until she was taken in by her father’s sister and went to live with her in Saitama Prefecture. When her father remarried, the pre-teen Sakai moved back with him and her step-mother in Fukuoka. Shortly afterward, a baby boy was born (he grew up to became a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate and was arrested on drug charges in July) and later a baby girl. At that time, Sakai’s father was having an affair and the marriage soon ended in divorce. He took Sakai with him when he remarried for a second time, and it was with this step-mother (62) that Sakai went on the run after her husband’s arrest.

• Actor Yamamoto Yoichi (40, photo bottom right) is said to have “miraculously” recovered from his recent heart failure. Having visited a local clinic on August 7, he was diagnosed with mild pneumonia and given medicine. However, when his condition didn’t improve, he visited a larger hospital two days later, where he was rushed to intensive care and treated for fulminant myocarditis. The uncommon condition is an inflammation of the heart muscle, caused by infectious agents, toxins, drugs or for unknown reasons. It can require aggressive treatment, even including a heart transplant. But Yamamoto has already recovered to the point where he is in a regular hospital ward and has begun rehabilitation. He will continue top be observed for any side effects on his liver or kidneys.