Category Archives: Entertainment News

Call it the “Kohaku Bounce”. The latest weekly singles chart ranking from Oricon shows that exposure on NHK’s annual New Year’s Eve song spectacular does wonders for sales. It’s no surprise to see superstars SMAP enjoying their third week at No.1 with “Dangan Fighter”, the live performance of which drew the peak audience rating of 43.9% on Kohaku. But for the first time in Oricon’s 40-year history, the No.2 and No.3 spots are also “Kohaku songs”. In second spot is the enka ballad “Waremokou” (cover above) by Sugimoto Masato (58), a successful songwriter but almost totally unknown as a singer until last month. The single was released in February 2007 and never really made an impact on the chart until Sugimoto performed on Kohaku. He’s followed at No.3 by Akikawa Masafumi (40), whose “Sen no Kaze ni Natte” enjoyed a similar boost last year. It went on to became last year’s biggest-selling single, and the first ever million-selling classical single, after the opera tenor appeared on Kohaku at the end of 2006. The jump back up the charts proves that, in spite of its continually declining audience, an appearance on Kohaku can still make a career. (By the way, waremokou is the name of a wild flower, known in English as a burnet)

Not a good start to the year for Hamasaki Ayumi (29). The singer revealed on her official fan club website at the weekend that she has lost the hearing in her left ear. She says doctors told her last year that it was too late for surgical treatment of a problem that dates back almost to the beginning of her career. In 2000 it caused her to postpone part of a national concert tour. With this year marking the tenth anniversary of her debut, she remains upbeat and says she will continue singing as long as she can hear in her right ear. She just released her latest album “Guilty” on New Year’s Day and has a 19-show concert tour starting in early April. The bad news came shortly after her ex-boyfriend, Tokio member Nagase Tomoya (28), was romantically linked with up-and-coming young actress Aibu Saki (22). Ayu and Nagase ended their 7-year relationship just last July.

• Last year’s live-action adaptation of the popular Mizuki Shigeru manga “Gegege no Kitaro” made over ¥2.3billion at the box office, so it’s no surprise that a sequel has been announced. Young idol Wentz Eiji (22) will again play the lead role of monster-boy Kitaro. Actress Inoue Mao (20) won’t be back as the heroine, but the rest of the supporting cast return, with the addition of such top stars as Ogata Ken (70), Terajima Shinobu (35) and Sano Shiro (52) taking on ghoulish roles. Motoki Katsuhide (44) is again directing and the movie is due for a summer release.

• NHK’s yearlong taiga drama kicked off on Sunday, with about average audience interest. “Atsu Hime”, with young actress Miyazaki Aoi (22) in the title role, drew an audience of 20.3% for its opening episode. The historical drama tells of a young girl from Kagoshima who joins the Edo Period court of the Tokugawa shogunate. Miyazaki joined about 5,000 people on Sunday for the opening of a tie-up exhibition at a trade facility in Kagoshima City.

Popular music producer Kobayashi Takeshi (48) and former My Little Lover vocalist Akko (34) divorced on New Year’s Day. They had been separated for some time but decided to make the split official, though they will continue to work together. Akko, real name Akamatsu Akiko, retains custody of the two children born during their almost 12-year marriage. Kobayashi, Akko and guitarist Fujii Kenji (38) formed the band known to fans as “MaiRaba” in 1995, with Kobayashi formally becoming a member for the album “evergreen”, which sold over 3 million copies. Fujii left the group in 2002. Kobayashi has produced hits for such artists as Mr. Children and Remioromen. In January of last year, he was romantically linked with singer Hitoto You (31), though he has denied he has any plans to remarry.

We reported yesterday on the various “Kohaku” highlights on New Year’s Eve, and now the official audience figures are in. The second half of the show, always more popular than the first, managed a slight improvement on last year’s record low of 37.6% but was still the second-lowest ever at 39.5%. Remember that this is in comparison to the show’s heyday when over 80% of households nationwide tuned in. Admittedly, the nations public network hasn’t seen a figure over 80% since 1972, and the 50% barrier was broken in 1989, the first year of the current Heisei Era. And with NHK being a non-commercial network, the figures are more a matter of pride than a financial concern. But with a battered reputation, pride is about all NHK has left and some very big names, including top rock names B’z and Yazawa Eikichi, had been bandied about for the latest show and when they failed to sign up, the worst was feared. In the end, the decision to focus more on the songs and some free publicity surrounding a few of the celebrities on the show probably saved the ratings from hitting an all-time low.

Meanwhile, on the other networks: “K-1 Premium 2007” on TBS got an audience of 14.7%; NTV’s comedy-variety show “Downtown no Gaki Tsukai ya Arahende!!” managed 12.4%; “Yoiko Mujinto ¥0 Seikatsu” pulled in 11.8%; and “Hustle Matsuri 2007” on TV Tokyo struggled to get 4%. But Fuji TV had the worst time, managing a mere 3.2% for its drama “Ichiokubun no Ichi no Otoko”.

• Young Johnny’s idol singer Uchi Hiroki (21) is to make his TV comeback, two years and seven months after he was punished for underage drinking. He will appear in the Fuji TV drama “Isshun no Kaze ni Nare”, which will air over four nights from February 25. Formerly a member of the groups Kanjani8 and NEWS, Uchi returned to the stage last summer for the musical starring Johnny’s veterans Shonentai. As with Kusano Hiroyuki (19), who was also caught indulging in the booze, he is now a solo performer.

With NHK’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen” battling for ratings with comedy and ring sports every New Year’s Eve, it was appropriate that one of the most anticipated appearances on the show was described as “Sengoku Rock”. Referring to the medieval “warring states” period was rock star Gackt, who last year appeared as warlord Uesugi Kenshin in NHK’s annual historical drama series “Fuurinkazan”. He reprised the role for his Kohaku performance, the details of which had been kept under wraps until the show went live. With Gackt and his band all dressed in full battle armor, he was supported by a studio full of about 300 warriors.

• Many viewers, myself included, were expecting some kind of acknowledgment of the rumored romance between emcee and SMAP leader Nakai Masahiro (35) and pop diva Koda Kumi (25), but it never came. Fellow emcee Shoufukutei Tsurube (57) teased Nakai gently after he had introduced Koda on stage but he didn’t take the bait. Indeed, when questioned by reporters after the show, Nakai said there was no truth to the rumors at all. Meanwhile, one real “power couple”, talento Fujiwara Norika (36) and comedian Jinnai Tomonori (34), were guests on the show in what they said was their first and last appearance together.

• Over at the Tokyo Dome, some 55,000 fans were gathered for a day and night of Johnny’s Jimusho entertainment. Kinki Kids performed on a huge stage for their more than three-hour show. The duo have played the venue on New Year’s Eve for ten years in a row and 29 times in all, the most by any artist. The revolving stage, a 50m circle and 100m long in the shape of their latest album title “&#981”, was reported to be the first of its kind in the world. That show was followed by a countdown concert that featured 150 Johnny’s artists, including Kinki Kids and Tokio. The show was televised live on Fuji TV from 11:45pm.

• Two of the networks went with the recent tradition of featuring combat sports. Takada Nobuhiko’s “Hustle Matsuri 2007” was a mix of wrestling and slapstick entertainment on the TV Tokyo network, while TBS had the more straightforward “K-1 Premium 2007 Dynamite”, whose highlight bout was between veteran fighters Sakuraba Kazushi and Funaki Masakatsu (Sakuraba won by a “chicken wing armlock”!).

Another showbiz divorce was announced this weekend, with comedian Endo Shouzou (36) and talento Chiaki (36) ending their less than six-year marriage. The main reason is thought to be Chiaki’s running out of patience with her husband’s philandering. One half of the popular duo Cocorico, Endo took part in a trip to Hawaii in January of last year with a group of fellow comedians and young beauties. And in March this year, he was photographed at a party with a group of race queens. The couple, both die-hard fans of the Hanshin Tigers baseball team, married in July 2002 and had a baby daughter in May 2003. All three were photographed together at a Tigers game at Koshien and were often referred to as an ideal showbiz family.

• Once upon a time, it was as if the whole nation would tune in to NHK’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen” every New Year’s Eve. Ratings have dropped dramatically over the last few years but the show has had the right kind of publicity to draw an audience this year. The biggest suspense is whether SMAP leader Nakai Masahiro (35) and current J-Pop queen Koda Kumi (25) will finally make their romance official. Then there is U.S. import Leah Dizon (21) who was in tears at rehearsals when she couldn’t remember the lyrics to the closing song, where all participants are led by enka veteran Kitajima Saburo. She originally had the highly visible spot right behind “Sabu-chan” but has since been moved to the back row. Then there is the sad story of Dreams Come True vocalist Yoshida Miwa (42), whose common-law husband passed away a few months ago. She and veteran Wada Akiko (57) were both in tears as they embraced during rehearsals. All in all, it’s sure to be an emotional show.

• At the Record Taisho awards, the main award went to folk duo Kobukuro. The newcomer award went to 7-member idol group C-ute, part of the same Hello! Project that brought you Morning Musume. As the members are under 18, they were not allowed to appear on stage after 9pm and had to accept their award via video hookup to the dressing room. Exile took the award for best vocal group.

The year-end wedding rush continues, with the latest announcement coming from actress Matsu Takako (30). She and musician Sahashi Yoshiyuki (46) chose yesterday, an auspicious “taian” day on the traditional calendar, to tie the knot on a relationship of six years. Messages of congratulation came from Matsu’s father, actor Matsumoto Koshiro (65), and brother, kabuki actor Ichikawa Somegoro (36) as well as a host of other celebrities. The couple first started going out when Sahashi took part in Matsu’s nationwide concert tour in 2001. He also participated in the recording of her latest album, “Cherish You”, which was released in April. Matsu told the president of her management agency of their wedding plans at the end of September. Yesterday’s announcement was sent to the media by fax and the couple have no plans to hold a press conference, wedding ceremony or reception. It is the second marriage for Sahashi, who divorced in 1998.

• Less happy news for retired baseball star Shinjo Tsuyoshi (35). He announced on his official website yesterday that he and his wife, talento Ohkouchi Shiho (36), divorced on December 16.

• Nakamura Kouichi (56), vocalist of the rock band Jaywalk is to be prosecuted for having an army knife in his car. The knife was spotted by police on the back seat of his car when he was stopped for a routine check in June. He said he had used it on a camping trip about a year earlier and had left it in the car.

The media was caught off guard by yesterday evening’s press conference by top actor Odagiri Jo (31) and young actress Kashii Yuu (20). The two announced that after a relationship of two years they are planning to get married in the New Year. As well known for his radical fashion sense as for his various critically acclaimed movie appearances, a clearly nervous Odagiri sported his recent “late-period John Lennon” look. By giving a formal press conference rather than announcing the news by fax, and such revelations as Kashii’s strictly enforced 10pm curfew, the image of a young couple in love seemed to override the 11-year age difference between them. The media are referring to them using such terms as “seijitsu” (sincere, honest) and “junai” (pure and innocent love), a reaction perhaps to the many shotgun weddings and short-lived marriages that are common in the showbiz world. When asked about her ideal husband, Kashii said she’d like to marry someone like her own father, who she described as “very strict and stubborn”. Odagiri, who was raised by his mother, echoed his fiancee by saying he hoped to live up to that image. He added that he has seen Kashii as a future marriage partner since they started dating. Asked about the timing of the announcement, he said that he will be filming overseas at the beginning of next year and wanted Kashii to feel at ease while he is away. The two, who met on the set of the 2005 movie “The Pavillion Salamandre”, share the same birthday, February 16. That seems as likely a date for their wedding as any.

Odagiri got his break on TV in the title role of “Kamen Rider Uga” in 2000. He won a Japan Academy Award as best newcomer for the 2003 movie “Azumi”. He was romantically linked with actress Mizuno Miki (33), but they split in 2005. Kashii, whose grandfather is American, spent her elementary school years in Singapore. She started out as a fashion model before making her TV debut in Fuji TV’s hugely popular series “Waterboys” in 2003. She appeared in the first “Death Note” movie in 2006.

• Another wedding announcement came today from actress Aso Kumiko (29). Her management agency sent a fax to the media saying that she and stylist Iga Daisuke (30) tied the knot in Tokyo this morning.

• Finally getting a chance to take a honeymoon are actress Fujiwara Norika (36) and comedian Jinnai Tomonori (33), who tied the knot in February. The couple recently announced that they will both appear as judges on NHK’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen” on New Year’s Eve, and will head off for Mauritius shortly after.

• The latest trouble to hit the Gorgeous Kano Sisters is the arrest of the father of Kano Kyoko (45). Oyama Teruo (72) was arrested on the night of December 25 for threatening the two “sisters” with an umbrella in the basement of their central Tokyo apartment building. Oyama is said to have been looking for money, and no injuries were reported. The Kano Sisters are famous for their flamboyant displays of extravagant wealth.

• Glay vocalist Teru (36) and his wife, Puffy member Ohnuki Ami (34), were involved in a minor traffic accident earlier this month, it was revealed yesterday. Teru was making a right turn in Tokyo’s Aobadai area when he collided with a young woman on a bicycle. Police are planning to prosecute him for accidental infliction of injury.

• It looks like actor and renowned playboy Ishida Junichi (53) has patched things up with ex-girlfriend, talento Hasegawa Rie (34). They were first reported to be a couple in 1996 and they started living together in Tokyo in 2004. But a split at the end of that year brought them a lot of publicity, which both have used to good effect on the variety show circuit. Sources say that Ishida has acknowledged the rekindled relationship.

Popular young actor Fujiwara Tatsuya (25) is to take on the persona of a Japanese movie legend. In the ‘hard boiled’ thriller “Chameleon” the star of the “Battle Royale” and “Death Note” movies will play a role originally written for the late Matsuda Yusaku (1950-89) in 1978. The project has finally been realized by the original scriptwriter Maruyama Shouichi (59), who worked with Matsuda on several projects, and producer Kurosawa Mitsuru, the man who shaped Matsuda’s career and is executive producer for the movie. Directed by Sakamoto Junji (50), the movie started filming at the end of November. Fujiwara impressed the director with his forthright acting style and willingness to take physical risks. In one scene, he barreled down a flight of steps on a motorbike and completed filming covered in bruises. The movie is scheduled to open in theaters next summer, and distributor Toei is planning on turning the movie into a series.

• Kyogen actor Shigeyama Motohiko (32) got married on Christmas Eve, it was revealed yesterday. He and his 31-year-old wife are already living together. Shigeyama comes from a kyogen family and made his stage debut at the age of four. He is currently appearing in NHK’s morning drama series “Chiritotechin”, whose plot centers around the traditional comic storytelling of rakugo in Osaka.

• Talento Nitta Junichi (44) announced on his blog yesterday that he is married for the second time. He gave no mention of when he got remarried, but said that his new wife is the hair stylist for popular enka singer Yashiro Aki (57). He was previously married to former singer Hiroe Jun (40), with whom he had two children.

• Talento Suzanne (21) has been romantically linked with actor Yamamoto Koji (31). Today’s issue of weekly gossip magazine “Friday” includes photos of Suzanne leaving Yamamoto’s Tokyo apartment very early one morning in late November. True to her “o-baka” (stupid) image, she insists that Yamamoto was simply helping her study geography and history, while her management agency insists the two are just friends.

• Comedian Masuda Hidehiko (37) of the duo Masuda Okada revealed yesterday that became a father for the second time last week. At the time the baby was born, he was filming a special program to mark the 25th anniversary of the debut by former idol singer Hori Chiemi.

• International fashion model Anne (21) is to appear in the latest promo video from hip hop unit Home Made Kazoku. The video for “Oboeteru” was shot last week in popular date spots around Tokyo, including Omotesando and O-daiba. The daughter of Hollywood-based actor Watanabe Ken (48), Anne is one of the few Japanese fashion models to have established themselves on the world catwalk scene.

Singer Takahashi Yuya (28) was released on bail yesterday after 40 days in police detention. The second son of actress Mita Yoshiko (66), he was arrested in mid-November for possession and use of amphetamines. He was released by the Tokyo District Court on ¥5 million bail and on the condition that he immediately check into a rehabilitation center for treatment of his drug addiction and depression. He will remain there until his first court hearing scheduled for January 28. He had nothing to say to the media as he was driven away from the courthouse yesterday afternoon. This is his third arrest on drug charges: he first fell foul of the law in 1998, and again in 2000, when he received a two-year prison sentence suspended for five years.

• Oh Rie (37) held a press conference yesterday to talk about her postponed wedding plans. The daughter of baseball legend Oh Sadaharu (67) and psychiatrist Honda Masaki (37) had been scheduled to register their marriage – Oh’s third and Honda’s second – on January 1. Both that and a wedding ceremony planned for later in January have been postponed indefinitely. Some have speculated that Oh may want to focus on next year’s baseball season, said to be her father’s last as manager of the Softbank Hawks. Another factor is no doubt a recent magazine report that Honda had been sued for sexual harassment. Oh said yesterday that wasn’t the specific reason for the change of heart but admitted that she told Honda she wanted to postpone the marriage immediately after reading the article on the airplane as they returned from a recent holiday. She added that, in spite of some “small things” that needed to be fixed, she and Honda still have an ongoing relationship.

• Someone else not having a happy Christmas was comedian Taka (31) of the duo Taka and Toshi. He called in to a live late-night Fuji TV variety show hosted by Akashiya Sanma (52) on Christmas Eve to say that he had been dumped by his girlfriend of eight years. He ironically won a trip for two to Paris and said that he wanted to get back together and use the prize as a honeymoon. A big reason for the split is no doubt the photos that were published in a weekly magazine back in August of Taka and reporter Suzuki Natsuko (30) at a hotel.

• Fukuchi Shigeo (73), a consultant and former CEO at Asahi Beer, has been chosen as the next chairman of NHK. It’s the first time since 1989 that someone has been chosen from outside the national public broadcast network. Ten of the twelve members of the management committee chose Fukuchi, while two echoed the opposition voiced by some NHK employees and other business executives. Fukuchi will start his 3-year term from January 25.