Latest News from Japan Zone & Japan Store

J-Pop queen Hamasaki Ayumi (28) and Tokio member Nagase Tomoya (28) have ended their 7-year relationship. Hamasaki revealed the split on her official fan site on Saturday, saying they had broken up the day before. “We had become more than just lovers and are more like family, like brother and sister. And we plan to continue like that and will remain close,” she said. Singer Wada Akiko wasted no time adding her two yen’s worth. On her Saturday morning live show, she said, “I thought it wouldn’t last. I think it’s probably down to Ayu’s selfishness. I don’t think she’ll be able to have a boyfriend for a while. But it’s a shame because I wanted them to stay together.” The pair first became friends when they co-starred in a TV Asahi drama series in 1997. Their relationship turned romantic in 2000 and became public in September 2001. There had been rumors of a split, but it was more widely thought that they would end up marrying. They vacationed together in Los Angeles last autumn.

It was announced yesterday that the “world’s sexiest man” George Clooney (46) will be coming to Japan in August. He’ll be visiting to promote his latest movie, “Ocean’s 13”. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the third movie in the popular con-man series opens in theaters on August 10, but Clooney will be in Tokyo from July 29 until the movie’s Japan premiere on August 1. He and producer Jerry Weintraub will hold a press conference on July 31. Like most Hollywood blockbuster premieres, it will be held in the Toho Cinemas complex in Tokyo’s upmarket Roppongi Hills. In keeping with the movie series location of Las Vegas, the event will feature a giant slot machine. It will be Clooney’s fourth trip to Japan, and the first since coming to plug “Ocean’s 12” along with fellow cast members Matt Damon (36) and Brad Pitt (43) in 2005.

• Comedian Hide (36), one half of the duo Penalty, announced yesterday that he got married to a 30-year-old Tokyo music industry worker on July 7, the date of the romantic Tanabata star festival. With this year being 2007, the 7/7/7 date resulted in a major rush on weddings nationwide. The couple have no plans for a wedding ceremony or reception. The marriage announcement came through the Yoshimoto Kogyo agency, which represents the majority of Japan’s top comedy acts.

• Actress Sato Eriko (25) has denied rumors in a recent issue of women’s magazine “Josei Seven” that she is dating actor Yamamoto Koji (30). Asked about the story at a PR event yesterday, she said, “It’s just not true. We’ve never even been alone, just the two of us.” There has been almost non-stop speculation about her emotional state since the breakup of her short relationship with kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo (29) a few months ago. She also announced yesterday the publication of her serial novel “Trois” in the first issue of the magazine “Feel Love”.

Japanese horror has had its cursed videos, cursed mobile phones, and now… The song “Boku no Hana” is central to the latest adventure in Japanese horror, “Densen Uta”. With a title that translates literally as “infectious song”, the Harada Masato-directed movie features a cursed 1990s pop song (by fictional singer Goi Michiko) that brings death to anyone careless enough to sing it. Though only her voice appears in the movie, talento and one of the top idol singers of the 1980s Matsumoto Iyo (42) plays someone foolish enough to have recorded the song, and paid the price. It was her first solo recording in 17 years. Distributors Shochiku have teamed up with major karaoke company Joysound to have the 1995 and 2007 versions of the number available at karaoke rooms across the country. Choose the wrong one and presumably the singer gets a bit of a fright halfway through. The Goi Michiko version of the song is to be released as a single on August 22, but in a neat marketing twist, distributors will wait to see if it really is cursed before deciding whether to release Matsumoto’s version. The movie, due for theatrical release on August 8, stars Matsuda Ryuhei and Oshima Yuko, a member of young idol group AKB48. Though Matsumoto’s idol image is becoming a distant memory, it had something of a revival last year when she teamed up with two other mothers and former idols (known as “Mommydols”), Hayami Yu (40) and Hori Chiemi (40), to release the single “Cutey Mommy”. She has been married to talento Hiromi (42) since 1993 and they have two children.

Young actress Kaneda Mika (23) and J-Leaguer Nakazawa Sota (24) couldn’t keep their relationship hidden for long. The game was given away when they both posted the same dinner date photo on their respective blogs. They have to make do with a long-distance relationship, as Kaneda lives in Tokyo, while defender Nakazawa is based across the country with Gamba Osaka. Kaneda made her name as a high school student in the popular long-running TBS drama “3-nen B-kumi Kimpachi Sensei” in 1999. She is currently a regular on several variety shows. Nakazawa joined Kashiwa Reysol in 2001, but was a regular for only one of his six seasons with the team. He moved to FC Tokyo in 2006 and transferred to current league leaders Gamba this season. Several years ago, while he was with Reysol, Nakazawa was romantically linked with former Morning Musume member Yoshizawa Hitomi.

• Actress Toda Keiko (49) is to revive her singing career after 30 years. She will release a new album, “Actress”, on September 5. The announcement came on the opening day of her new musical, “The Hit Parade”, in which she co-stars with comedian Harada Taizo (37) of the trio Neptune. It also came just days after the revelation that her 16-year marriage to actor Inoue Junichi (48) came to an end last December.

• Actor Yoshikawa Ginji (42) is the latest to be arrested in the ongoing extortion case involving talento Haga Kenji (45). Yoshikawa is said to have been present, along with a member of the yakuza and a former world boxing champion, when a real estate company president was coerced into signing a document that released Haga from almost ¥400 million in debts. A minor name, Yoshikawa appeared mainly in so-called V-Cinema movies, the direct-to-video industry that appeared in Japan from the 1980s.

Iida Kaori (25) is the latest former member of Morning Musume to have a shotgun wedding. The group’s second leader is currently three months pregnant and planning to marry Kenji (28), former vocalist with the defunct rock band 7House, later this month. But she is still scheduled to appear in this summer’s Hello! Project tour, a first for either a wife or an expectant mother. The show starts in Tokyo on August 11 and ends its run in Iida’s hometown of Sapporo on September 1, after which she will take maternity leave. 7House, which debuted in 1999 but broke up three years later, was yet another brainchild of MoMus producer Tsunku (38). Romance between Iida and Kenji was reported in 1999 but flatly denied. After his band broke up, Kenji became a company employee and the two drifted apart. Iida left MoMus in January 2005 and has been exhibiting as an artist. The couple reportedly began dating again at the end of 2005 and started thinking about marriage last autumn.

• Two former members of Johnny’s Jimusho boy band News have made their comeback. Uchi Hiroki (20) and Kusano Hironori (19) are appearing in this summer’s “Playzone 2007”, the annual musical production featuring veteran Johnny’s group Shonentai, now in its 22nd year. The two youngsters were both dropped from News following separate underage drinking incidents, Uchi in 2005 and Kusano last year. Both are considered to have done their penance and are being given another chance. The show also features Uekusa Yuta (12), son of Shonentai member Uekusa Katsuhide (40). The show opened yesterday at the Aoyama Gekijo theater in central Tokyo, where it runs till mid-August.

• Actor Jerry Ito died of pneumonia on Sunday at his California home. He was 79. The U.S.-born son of Broadway dancer Ito Michio, he appeared in over a dozen Japanese movies including the kaiju classic Mothra (1961) and the manga adaptation Golgo 13 (1977).

• It was revealed yesterday that producer/musician Komuro Tetsuya (48) recently ended his 6-year relationship with the Yoshimoto Kogyo agency. Yoshimoto, best known for its huge stable of comedy acts, said that Komuro’s contract finished at the end of June and the decision was amicable.

Japan’s main Live Earth event was held Saturday at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. The only major problem was when fans rushed forward during the Linkin Park set, knocking over barricades and forcing the band to leave the stage for 15 minutes. Koda (photo, 24) was the main local artist and gave a typically dynamic performance. In keeping with the global warming theme, she went with the hot pants look. The full lineup of for the 9-hour, 78-song show was: Genki Rockets, Rise, Ayaka, Otsuka Ai, Ai, Xzibit, Abingdon Boys School, Cocco, Linkin Park, Koda Kumi and Rihanna. A separate event was held at the Toji temple in Kyoto on Saturday night, featuring a one-time-only revival of Sakamoto Ryuichi’s legendary band Yellow Magic Orchestra, Michael Nyman and Rip Slyme. Over the 24-hour period, shows were held in Sydney, Shanghai, Johannesburg, London, Hamburg and Rio de Janeiro.

• Talento Yasuda Misako (25) admitted yesterday that she and actor Kashiwabara Shuji (28) have split up. Appearing on the Sunday morning live show “Akko ni Omakase!”, she revealed that they had broken up at the end of May. “He’s a really kind guy and I respect him, but, well…love is difficult, isn’t it?”, she told the show’s veteran hostess, Wada Akiko (57). Insisting she was over the split, she said it was a mutual decision. The pair met in 2005 when they co-starred in the movie adaptations of the popular manga “Luna Heights”, and they started dating last summer.

• Talento Hasegawa Rie (33) is tight-lipped about her rumored romance with rapper Rino Latina II (33). Appearing Saturday at a PR event for Pedro Almodovar’s latest movie “Volver” in a pink summer yukata, she refused to answer questions about the first reported romance since her split with actor Ishida Junichi (52) at the end of 2005.

• Traditional musicians ZAN recently performed at an event to promote the release of their U.S. debut album “Shiku”. Featuring Kominato Akihisa (28) on vocals and shakuhachi, and Ichikawa Shin (31) on koto, the group had to overcome the April 2006 death of its leader Sunagawa Norikazu in a climbing accident. “Making our debut in the U.S. was a dream we all shared. We want the whole world to know about these wonderful Japanese musical instruments.”

• Chubby talento Uchiyama Shinji (25) has admitted that he is currently embroiled in a court case with his ex-girlfriend. The 30-year-old woman, with whom he lived for eight years, has sued him for ¥500 million in compensation following their breakup as well as unpaid wages from her job at the company he runs. Their split is said to have resulted from Uchiyama’s reported affair in January, though he has denied both the report and that the couple’s relationship was a common-law marriage. He has also disputed her claim for wages, saying she was paid for her occasional work for “Mago no Te”, a home nursing service.

Could there be romance happening between actress Yonekura Ryoko (31) and retired soccer star Nakata Hidetoshi (30)? Today’s issue of women’s weekly “Josei Seven” has photos of the two enjoying a dinner date in Tokyo late month. They spent about three hours relaxing at an Italian restaurant in the fashionable Azabu district. Yonekura’s agency insist they met by chance and were both there with friends. She is currently appearing in the new TBS drama series “Katagoshi no Koibito”, which started last night. Nakata, who was previously linked with actress Miyazawa Rie (34), is said to have returned to his home in Paris.

• A comic impersonator has been arrested in a bizarre incident. Eizawa Yosaku (real name Mita Masami, 46), an Eizawa Yokichi lookalike, got into a drunken argument with fellow impersonators at an apartment in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture in the early hours of Thursday morning. He chewed up the earlobe of Tsuntsuku (Tanaka Kenji, 43), a lookalike of Morning Musume guru Tsunku, leaving a wound that will take several weeks to heal.

The first half of 2007 has been a tale of two princes. Topping Oricon’s new twice-a-year Fresh Star Rankings is young golf sensation Ishikawa Ryo (15), popularly known as “Hanikami Oji” (The Shy Prince). A first-year high school student in Tokyo, he found overnight stardom in May when he became the youngest player ever to win a professional golf tournament. Comparisons to Tiger Woods inevitably followed. But the ranking was the only good news yesterday for Ishikawa, as he failed to make the cut in the Japan Amateur Championship. Second in the rankings is Waseda University baseball pitcher Saito Yuuki (19), known as “Hankachi Oji” (The Handkerchief Prince), who shot to fame with his superhuman performance at last summer’s national high school baseball tournament. He also recently led Waseda to its first All-Japan Intercollegiate Championship in 33 years. He earned his nickname at Koshien last summer with his habit of wiping the sweat from his brow with a blue handkerchief as he led his team to the championship. The pitcher he beat at Koshien, Tanaka Masahiro (18), was ranked fourth. He turned pro and now plays for the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Topping the female rankings by a huge margin was actress Nagasawa Masami (20), followed by singer Yui (20) and U.S. import Leah Dizon (20).

• Talento Umemiya Anna (34) has quit her management agency, it was revealed yesterday. Though she had only recently restarted her acting career, it seems she quit Stardust Promotion on June 30, the same day that her ex-boyfriend Haga Kenji (45) was arrested on extortion charges. The pair were a high profile celebrity couple from 1994 to 1999, even publishing a book of nude photos together. A pregnant Umemiya married a businessman in June 2001 but they broke up a year and a half later. Her ex-husband was convicted on illegal gambling charges in July 2004.

Meanwhile, investigators spent three hours searching Haga’s ¥300 million apartment in Tokyo’s Meguro district yesterday. Ironically, only a couple of days before his arrest, Haga had been proudly showing off the 29th-floor apartment on the TBS variety show “ObirajiR”.

Minor talento Sakamoto Issei (36) was stabbed on Sunday morning following a car park argument. While parking his car at a neighborhod supermarket in Inage, Chiba Prefecture, he almost hit another car. This led to an argument with a man described as 60 years old an unemployed (often a euphemism for a yakuza). The man punched Sakamoto and stabbed him in the chest and was arrested on the spot. (Reports failed to mention if the man was further incensed by Sakamoto’s cheesy photos!) Real name Itoh Fumio, Sakamoto’s brief claim to fame was in the early 1990s when he debuted with the stage name Shin Kase Taishu. The name was a sarcastic move by the Interface Project management agency after they lost a court case to use the name Kase Taishu when that popular talento quit the agency. His showbiz career never really took off and in 1997 he quit only to try out a s pro wrestler in 1999. After that bid failed, he worked as a used car salesman, long-distance truck driver and restaurant manager. He is currently trying his luck again as a talento, but also working a couple of nights a week at a host club in Tokyo’s seedy Kabukicho district.

• TV Asahi announced at its regular press conference yesterday how it will handle coverage of the Diet elections if Japan’s soccer team reaches the final of the Asia Cup. With both events scheduled for July 29, the soccer would be broadcast live and the election results shown in one segment of the screen. The network also announced that oral proceedings in the court case initiated by “TeleAsa” and managing director Hayakawa Hiroshi against publisher Kodansha and others will begin on September 3. The plaintiffs are seeking ¥200 million in compensation and a published apology for an article claiming financial irregularities at the network that appeared in the “Shuukan Gendai” magazine last month.

Popular rock band Road of Major are to break up. The quartet announced the decision yesterday, saying they don’t plan to hold a farewell concert. The upcoming DVD “Golden Road Films” (on sale July 18) will be their final release. Made up of leader/bassist Matsumoto Kenichi (27), vocalist Kitagawa Kenichi (26), guitarist Kondo Nobumasa (24), and (23) on drums, the band was formed as a project on the TV Tokyo audition show “Hamaraja” in 2002. They played 50 shows in 100 days with the aim of building a big enough fan base that their debut single would make the Top 50 of the Oricon chart. If they succeeded, they’d sign with a major label; if they failed, they’d break up. Things went well, and “Taisetsuna Mono” entered at No.16, finally reaching No.2 and selling over a million copies. They were the first ever independent band to enter the Oricon chart at No.1 with their 2003 eponymous debut album. Although a major label deal followed in 2004, they never managed to reach the same heights again. The artificial nature of the band meant that the members often had different musical ideas and they finally decided to go their own ways.

• The popular TV Asahi period drama series “Hissatsu Shigotonin” is making its comeback after 15 years, with some help from Johnny’s Jimusho. Long-time star Fujita Makoto (74) will revive his role as “assassin for hire” Nakamura Mondo in an upcoming special, but the new series will become a vehicle for Shonentai member Higashiyama Noriyuki (40). The special will feature two other Johnny’s stars, Tokio’s Matsuoka Masahiro (30) and Ookura Tadayoshi (22) of KanJani8, so the show will have pretty boys for all ages. Fujita said, “The Hissatsu series is a brand name. I want (Higashiyama) to take it over and keep it going forever.” The special airs on July 7 at 9pm.