Actress Tamura Eriko (33) is making a name for herself in Hollywood. She was in Tokyo yesterday to promote the Ichikawa Toru film “Dakara Watashi wo Suwarasete”, her first local project in five years. She said she has been auditioning for TV and movie work since her move to Los Angeles in 2001. And she revealed that she has already made her Hollywood debut. She played a surfer girl in “Surf School”, which was released in September. She has already landed a role in another movie, provisionally titled “Rock Point”. She described it as “an artistic film,” adding, “I believe there are plans to enter it in film festivals. I’m so happy.” Though she made her acting debut at the age of 13, Tamura best known as a teen pop idol in the early 90s, when she released 10 albums. Her best known TV role was in the docu-drama mini-series “My Beloved Ultra Seven” on NHK. She also appeared in the network’s major taiga drama series “Hideyoshi” in 1996. Though her U.S. promos describe her as a “superstar” in her native country, that is a bit of a stretch these days. “Dakara…” opens here on Saturday.
• U.S. website The Smoking Gun recently reported that Fuji Keiko, the mother of J-pop queen Utada Hikaru was caught up in a possible drug case in New York back in March. A fellow passenger at John F. Kennedy Int’l Airport had notified authorities of her erratic and suspicious behavior. She was found to have more than $420,000 in cash in her carry-on luggage while on her way to Las Vegas. Authorities seized the money, alleging that it was either the proceeds of drug sales or was to be used to buy drugs. Fuji made a series of claims and excuses, such as that she was suffering from a serious illness, that the money was gambling winnings and that she planned to donate it to an orphanage in Las Vegas. None of the claims could be verified.
• Actor Watari Testuya is Japan’s ideal boss. In a survey by the local subsidiary of U.S. pen maker Parker, Watari was chosen as the celebrity who would make the best boss. He moved up from the No.2 spot, which went to last year’s top choice, former baseball manager Hoshino Seiichi. Another baseball legend, Oh Sadaharu was in third. Ex-prime minister Koizumi Junichiro fell from No.3 to No.5 but was still five places higher than his replacement, Abe Shinzo.
• Three members of the defunct visual-kei rock band Pierrot played their first concert yesterday as the new unit Angelo. Led by vocalist Kirito, they performed 11 new songs at the outdoor stage in central Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park. The set included their debut single “Reborn”, which is set for release on November 11. The five-member Pierrot broke up in April.
Dentist turned singer songwriter Toda Kohei (27) revealed in a recent interview that he is actually the younger brother of popular actress Toda Naho (32). He says that while she is his number one fan, she was also the one most strongly opposed to his career switch. Active in music from his high school days, he was in his fourth year of dentistry school when he first told his family of his dream to be a professional musician. They were strongly against the idea and managed to persuade him to finish school and qualify as a dentist. He did so but quit after just one month at a Tokyo dental clinic. It took a further two years of performing on the streets and in the live houses of Tokyo before he finally made his recording debut in July. His latest song, “Yo ni Mukau” has been chosen as the theme for Fuji TV’s revamped Friday night entertainment show “Kinyou Presteji”, starting this week. The same day, he will also make his first TV appearance, on “Tokyo Beat” on the TV Asahi network. Kohei includes Led Zeppelin, Blur and Inoue Yosui among his favorite artists. Toda Naho has long been romantically linked with New York Yankees star 
News presenter Yamamoto Mona (30) looks to be out of a job. Only a week after joining the “News23” staff, her affair with a married politician has led to an “indefinite suspension”. The beautiful and multilingual Yamamoto, whose father is Norwegian, was expected to be a valuable addition to the TBS show’s lineup. She was seen as a rival to Fuji TV’s “News Japan” presenter Takigawa Christel (29), who is half French. But the revelation last week that she was having an affair with married Minshuto Diet member Hosono Goshi (35) had commentators speculating on how long she’d last. TBS initially refused to comment on what they called a private issue, but last night presenter Zemba Takako (31) announced on the show that Yamamoto would be “absent for a while due to health problems”. In the meantime, Zemba and Takano Takahiro (27) will support news anchor Chikushi Tetsuya (71).
Talento Mukai Aki (41) and her husband, pro wrestler Takada Nobuhiko (44), had some good news at the weekend. Parents of twin boys born in the U.S. in November 2003 to a surrogate mother, they have been fighting in the local courts to have their children legally registered. The Tokyo High Court on Friday ordered Tokyo’s Shinagawa ward to accept the birth registration of the 2-year-old boys, overturning an earlier decision by the Tokyo Family Court. The Justice Ministry had taken the stance that to recognize Mukai’s parenthood would be in violation of the law stating that only a birth mother can be so recognized. In 2000, after six years of marriage, Mukai underwent surgery to have her womb removed following the discovery of uterine cancer. She has shown remarkable strength in the face of such adversity, appearing in televised press conferences several times. Commentators on today’s wide shows speculate that the High Court’s decision was strongly affected by Mukai’s medical history and may not be a simple precedent for future cases or lead to a change in the law.
Sakamoto Ryuichi (54) is taking a new artist under his wing for the first time. The Academy Award-winning musician and composer is to produce the debut single by fellow New York-based singer Kotoringo (28, real name Miyoshi Rieko). “Konnichiwa, Mata Ashita” (Hello, See You Tomorrow) is the theme for the latest Gekkeikan TV commercial and will be released as a single on November 28. Over his long career, Sakamoto has worked with a wide variety of artists from around the world, but has never produced a newcomer (other than perhaps his daughter Miu, who made her debut single with Sugizo of the band Luna Sea). Kotoringo (a combination of ‘kotori’, or little bird, and ‘ringo’, apple) studied at the Berkeley College of Music in Boston, where she won a Piano Department Achievement Award. After graduating, she moved to New York where she performed as a pianist and singer until deciding to make a demo tape last autumn. A copy of the tape made its way to Sakamoto at the J-Wave radio station. “She is a composer of lovely and freewheeling music, and her voice sometimes has the purity of a young girl,” he said. “But she also has amazing ability on the piano. The “imbalance” between the two is her charm.” The description could just as easily be applied to Sakamoto’s ex-wife, Yano Akiko. (Gekkeikan is a Kyoto company that has been brewing sake for over four and a half centuries.)
Talento Haga Kenji (44) is finally settling down. Long regarded as one of Japan’s leading playboys, his well-publicized romance with talento Umemiya Anna (34) ended in 1999 just when the media were expecting them to announce their engagement. It was no secret that her father, actor Umemiya Tatsuo, disapproved of their relationship and it only made matters worse when they published a book of nude photos together. (Anna was soon to go through marriage, motherhood and divorce). After the split, Haga’s life went into something of a tailspin and he found himself hundreds of millions of yen in debt. But he started his own jewelry design and sales business and has found success and prosperity once again. And now he has found his true love, in the form of Yamada Mayu (29). “To be honest, I thought I’d never be able to get married,” he said. “I’m so glad I met her.” He announced yesterday that they are now engaged, but currently have no plans for a wedding ceremony (there is a rumor however that one of the TV networks is planning a live broadcast of their wedding ceremony in Hawaii at New Year). Haga proposed earlier this month, presenting Yamada with an engagement ring he designed himself two years ago. He says the 7-carat diamond ring would have a sale value of between ¥50-70 million. The Okinawa-born Haga, whose real name is Toma Mikio, had his showbiz breakthrough in 1982 when he was one of the young assistants on the Fuji TV afternoon variety show “Waratte Iitomo.”
Actress Sugita Kaoru (41) is in trouble yet again, according to the Josei Jishin women’s weekly. The latest episode in her off-screen antics is an affair with an older married man with children. Late one night earlier this month, she was seen having a lover’s tiff with the man on a bridge in central Tokyo. Clearly drunk, she was screaming at the man for having slept with his wife. The pair then went to a bar where they made up, kissed and ended up at a love hotel. Sugita admits that she was drunk at the time and has tried to shrug off the incident, saying “I have no memory of it. I went into the love hotel because I thought it was a castle.” The man is described as in his 50s and an employee of a major media company. The former child star has long had a reputation as a drinker and playgirl. Single until last year, she was often cited as an example of a “make-inu” (lit. loser dog) who could never find happiness in life. She took everyone by surprise when she married a rich heir in March after a whirlwind relationship, instantly transforming into a “celeb” wife. But the marriage lasted only a few months and they divorced in August amidst accusations of violence and infidelities by Sugita.
Actor Tamba Tetsuro died late Sunday night of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital. He was 84. Born in the Okubo area of Tokyo in 1922, his real name was Tamba Shosaburo. He was one of the busiest stars of the postwar Japanese movie industry, making his debut in 1952 at the late age of 30 but still managing to cram over 300 movies into his long career. The best known include “Suna no Utsuwa” (The Castle of Sand, 1974) and “Ningen Kakumei” (The Human Revolution, 1973). But the one that stands out for western movie fans is his role as Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond flick “You Only Live Twice” (photo). His final appearance was in the currently showing “Nihon Chinbotsu” (Japan Sinks), and he also played a major role in the 1973 original.
A fluent English speaker, he worked as an interpreter at the U.S. military’s GHQ in Tokyo while studying at Chuo University. He made his debut with a big role in the Shin Toei studio production “Satsujin Yogisha” (Murder Suspect), but would be stuck in supporting roles for the next decade. The 1963 Fuji TV series “Sanbiki no Samurai” (The Three Samurai) finally brought him stardom. The rest of the decade saw him play a series of yakuza and gang bosses in what was the most popular genre of the 60s. His best work came in the 70s, including the definitive TV detective series “G-Men 75”. In his later years, he turned to the spiritual world and started proclaiming himself to be a medium and making several documentaries in the 1980s. Dapper up until the end, he always appeared immaculately dressed and wearing his signature sunglasses. But in his final public appearances, years of battling heart disease were clearly taking their toll and he looked increasingly gaunt. He was hospitalized at the beginning of this month with pneumonia and appeared to be making a recovery when he suddenly suffered heart failure. His son, actor Tamba Yoshitaka, said, “He passed away peacefully. It was very much like him to spend his last hours without bothering anyone.”
Former X Japan leader Yoshiki is to make his Hollywood debut. He has written the opening music and ending song to the thriller “Catacombs”, produced by Gregg Hoffman, the man behind the 2004 horror hit “Saw”. Based on a true story about the youth parties in the catacombs beneath 14th century Paris, it stars Shannyn Sossamon. “I don’t usually like scary movies, but the artistry of this project appealed to me,” said the L.A.-based former X Japan drummer and pianist. He has worked on movies in the past, such as the anime “X” and the South Korean film “Boku no Kanojo wo Shokai Shimasu”, but this is his first truly international project. The ending theme, “Blue Butterfly”, is sung by Nina, an American vocalist with Yoshiki’s band Violet UK. The unit has been around for several years, but planned projects – including a debut album scheduled for release a year ago – have yet to come to fruition.
For theater director Ninagawa Yukio (70), the role of Joan of Arc was made just for Matsu Takako (29), an actress he has wanted to work with again for many years. He has cast Matsu as the star of his latest production, “Hibari” (The Lark), in which she will play the 15th century heroine. The play was written by French playwright Jean Anouilh in 1953. Ninagawa and Matsu first worked together in 1995, when he cast the high school girl as Ophelia in his version of “Hamlet”. Three years later, with