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The truth is out about Tsuji Nozomi (19). It turns out that the reason the former Morning Musume member recently dropped out of a planned stage musical is that she is two months pregnant and planning to get married on her 20th birthday. She and actor Sugiura Taiyou (26) started dating last year and visited each other’s family homes at the end of the year. The diminutive Tsuji, who debuted with Morning Musume in 2000 at the age of 12, was always one of the group’s most popular members. After she “graduated” from the group in 2004, she formed the duo “W” with Kago Ai (19), only to see that go down in flames when Kago was fired from the Hello! Project in April. Tsuji was swiftly named to lead a new trio called Gyaruru just two weeks ago, but was diagnosed with an acute stomach ulcer days later. Given the news of her pregnancy, it’s likely she is also suffering from morning sickness and will most likely soon be on maternity leave so the future of Gyaruru is unclear. Of the more than two dozen girls who’ve been members of Morning Musume over the last ten years Tsuji will be just the third to get married. Sugiura made his break in 2001 playing the lead role in the “Ultraman Cosmos” action hero series on TBS. In 2002 he and his younger brother Takao made their singing debut as the duo Ex. Bold. His latest project is the movie “Zero Kara no Kaze”, scheduled for release in December.

• Happy news too for talento couple Fujii Takashi (35) and Otoha (26). The couple, who married in July 2005, are expecting their first baby in November. Fujii is best known for his character Matthew Minami, who appeared in the Hollywood movie “Lost in Translation”.

• “Spiderman 3” is off to a flying start. It broke the ¥3 billion barrier at the box office in just six days since it opened on May 1, a new record for a Hollywood movie. It’s been seen by over 2.5 million people, way more than the 800,000 who have been to see “Babel”, which opened three days earlier.

Yoshizawa Hitomi (22) made her final appearance last night as leader of Morning Musume. She characteristically shed no tears as the group finished their spring tour an afternoon and evening show in front of 30,000 fans at the Saitama Super Arena. Fans also got their first proper look at the group’s two new Chinese members, JunJun (19) and LinLin (16). The fourth member to take on the role of leader, “Yossui” leaves after seven years and one month with the group, the longest run of any member. She suffered tragedy in January when her younger brother Hirota died in a traffic accident at the age of 16, just days after she had announced her planned “graduation” from the group. She performed as scheduled at the Osaka Dome four days later, refusing to shed any public tears. Her toughness is a vital part of her success, and she will be straight into her next job this weekend, filling in for former member Tsuji Nozomi (19), whose poor health forced her to drop out of a stage musical.

• Actor Kitamura Kazuo died yesterday of lung failure. He was 80. He had been hospitalized last month following a mild stroke and developed pneumonia. He is survived by his wife Kikuko, actress daughter Yuri (36), and son Yukiya (33), a stage actor. One of the major names in Japanese theater, he also artery-diseases-info.com dramas and movies, including Kurosawa Akira‘s “Tengoku to Jigoku” (Heaven and Hell) and “Nippon Konchuki” (The Insect Woman), directed by his old friend Imamura Shohei. He last appeared on stage in 2004 and last winter he filmed scenes for the yet to be finished movie “Beauty”.

• Former actor Achiwa Shinsuke was found dead at a waterfall in Kagoshima Prefecture several days ago, according to a statement yesterday from the production company he ran. Police are investigating the death as a possible suicide. The ex-husband of actress Takigawa Yumi (56), he was best known for his role in the “Ultra Seven” action hero TV series. He suffered two strokes in recent years and had been in poor health since. His daughter is talento Takigawa Hanako (18).

• Comedian Hata Youku (31), better known as the Guitar Samurai, announced yesterday that he is engaged to be married. The relationship with the 33-year-old named only as “A-ko” started when he was 20. It wasn’t until 2004 that Hata made his name as one of the breakthrough as one of the faces of the comedy boom. Now that he has established himself, he finally felt ready to propose, which he did in March. The couple are planning to register their marriage later this month. The surge in popularity enjoyed by young comedians in the last few years has seen a number of them marry models and actresses. But some have stayed true to the “regular” women who supported them in leaner times. In addition to Hata, there’s Takeyama Takanori (36), Matsumoto Kouta (27) and Neko Hiroshi (29).

• Talento and pin-up girl Kumakiri Asami (26) has admitted that she is in a relationship with Yokohama Bay Stars pitcher Nasuno Takumi (24). A fan of the rival Hanshin Tigers team, she has taken some stick for the fact that Nasuno has said he hates the often fanatical Hanshin fans.

Former comedian and Osaka governor Yokoyama Nokku died of throat cancer on Thursday. He was 75. His former comedy partners Kamioka Ryutaro (65, No-sleepiness.com “Punch”) and Aoshiba Fukku (68, Yokoyama “Hook”) were among the friends and family in attendance at a wake held in Hyogo Prefecture yesterday. There is speculation that a major farewell event will be held at the Kyocera Osaka Dome. Real name Yamada Isamu, Nokku was born in Kobe in 1932. He joined the Yoshimoto Kogyo agency at the age of 23. Six years later he, Kamioka and Aoshiba became the Manga Trio, as Yokoyama “Knock”, “Hook” and “Punch”. They specialized in comedy routines based around current news. The trio broke up in 1968 and Nokku went into national politics, though continuing to do showbiz work. He was elected to the Diet four times from ’68 to ’89, missing out only in 1974. He left the Diet in 1995 and ran successfully in the Osaka gubernatorial election. He won a second term by a record margin in 1999 but was caught up in a sexual harassment case soon after. He was given a suspended prison sentence for harassing a female college student in his car during the election campaign. The media backlash was extreme and he retired from showbiz. He made a couple of guest appearances last year but his health was already failing. Kamioka was one of the senior members of the showbiz community when he retired in 2000, in part because of the fate of his good friend. Yesterday was his first appearance before TV cameras since then but he declined to make any comment.

The Yomiuri Giants slump continues. Despite the fact that they are having a good season so far and are top of the Central League, the audience rating for their televised night games in April was the worst ever. At 10.8% in the Kanto region, it was well below last year’s record low of 12.6%. Ironically, the bad news came on the same day that the Kyojin, as they are known in Japanese, won their milestone 5,000th game. The 5-3, 11-inning win over the Chunichi Dragons at Nagoya Dome also saw the first ever save as a pro for ace pitcher Uehara Koji. The Giants’ first ever win came on July 3, 1936.

• Singer Aikawa Nanase (32) is pregnant again. She revealed yesterday on her official website that she is currently 6 months pregnant with her second child. She is currently in recording and says she will go ahead with her annual July 7 concert. With her name including the kanji for the number seven (nana), she chose that date for a show to commemorate her 10th year in showbiz in 2005. The band put together for that event included former X Japan guitarist Pata, former Luna Sea drummer Shinya, and former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman. Aikawa married in February 2001 and had a baby boy the following September.

“Spiderman 3” opened in theaters across the country and elsewhere in Asia yesterday, several days before the U.S. Costumed fans formed lines up to 150m long for the morning show at theaters in Tokyo, proving that the huge PR for the movie is paying off. Distributor Sony Pictures said that some 400,000 people saw the movie on the opening day, well above the number for the first two installments in the series. At that pace the movie looks set to meet their box-office target of ¥10 billion. In 2005, “The Da Vinci Code” was seen by 930,000 people in the first week, making over ¥9 billion. Yesterday was officially a regular work day but many people have taken Tuesday and Wednesday off to have a full 9-day Golden Week holiday. Audiences were boosted by the fact that discount tickets were available yesterday, the first day of the month and so “Movie Day”, and today, as Wednesdays are “Ladies Day”.

• Freelance announcer Nagai Minako (41) revealed yesterday that she gave birth to her second child in February. She married Hori Kazutomo (41), president of IT group Cybird in 2001 and they had their first child that year. Nagai plans to appear at a Mother’s Day even in Yokohama on May 13.

Comedian Matsumoto Hitoshi (43) is off to a good start as a movie director. His directorial debut “Dai Nihonjin” isn’t due for release until June 2 but it has been invited to this month’s 60th Cannes International Film Festival. According to distributor Phantom Film, it will air during Director’s Week and will be eligible for the Camera d’Or prize for best first feature film. The festival will be held from May 16-27 and Matsumoto is planning to attend. In keeping with his multi-talented reputation (he has written several best-selling books), Matsumoto also stars in the movie and co-wrote the screenplay. Though details about the movie are being kept under wraps, the debut feature will inevitably be compared with the work of Kitano “Beat” Takeshi (60). Especially as his latest, “Kantoku Banzai”, is scheduled to open on the same day as “Dai Nihonjin”. Also one of Japan’s top comedians, Takeshi turned to the world of movies some years ago and has garnered worldwide acclaim for his varied body of work. He may well be in Cannes this year as he is Japan’s representative in a compilation movie of 3-minute segments by 35 of the world’s top directors.

Matsumoto said at a press conference in January, when asked to describe his movie, “I definitely don’t think it’s the kind of work that will be winning prizes at Cannes!” But Cannes artistic director Olivier Pere described it as a “comedy masterpiece” that takes a totally unique approach to mixing fantasy and documentary, adding that he’d already watched it four times!

Okay, it’s finally time for me to stop ragging on Morning Musume. The girl group with the ever-changing lineup has achieved yet another milestone, selling more singles than the legendary idol duo Pink Lady. Their latest single, “Kanashimi Twilight” has entered the latest Oricon chart at No.2 and so far has sold over 50,000 copies. Not exactly a huge number yet, but enough to put their total single sales at 11.085 million over the last ten years and finally beat the long-standing record of Pink Lady. Including total singles sales, they now hold five records for a female group. The others are: the most No.1’s (10), the most Top 10 hits (33), the most consecutive years with a No.1 (6) and the most consecutive years with a Top 10 (10).

The only thing keeping them from another No.1 this week is the latest from Johnny’s duo Kinki Kids, who have a phenomenal record of their own. “Brand New Song” is the 25th single since they debuted and every one of them has gone to No.1, a feat that got them into the Guinness Book of Records. At No.1 in the album chart is Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne (22), who played an unannounced “guerrilla live” show in front of Shinjuku station on Saturday.

Yoshimoto comedian Nakata Kausu (57) is paying the price for his yakuza connections. NHK has shelved two episodes of a variety show and Yoshimoto have replaced him as an emcee for the final day of “Live Stand ’07” a major comedy event that finishes today. Given the current climate following a series of incidents involving members of major crime syndicates, including last week’s murder of the mayor of Nagasaki, a recent magazine article on Nakata’s friendship with a gang boss has seriously damaged his reputation. The always conservative NHK is wary of attracting any negative publicity and is unlikely to invite him to appear on any more shows. At least not shows like “Variety Seikatsu Shouhyakka”, that takes a comic look at everyday legal issues. Nakata made his debut in 1969 as one half of the manzai duo Nakata Kausu-Botan. Though a lot more popular in the Kansai region than in Tokyo, they are an established act and have won several comedy awards over the years.

• A former host of the above variety show is veteran comedian Nishikawa Kiyoshi (60), who is now a grandfather for the fifth time. His daughter Kanako (32), also a TV talento, recently gave birth to her first child. Kiyoshi, his wife Helen (60) and their daughter introduced the baby to the press for the first time yesterday. Kanako is married to pastry chef Hayashi Shigekazu (53).

• Newscaster Kotani Maoko (42) has remarried, to the president of auctioneer Sotheby’s Japan. The former JAL flight attendant became popular as a newscaster on the TV Asahi show “News Station” in the 90’s. Since 1998 she has been the main newscaster on TV Tokyo’s “World Business Satellite”. She was previously married from 1993 to 2001.

Over 1,000 fans turned out at Pusan airport in South Korea yesterday to welcome SMAP heart throb Kimura Takuya (34, photo left). Though it’s this third visit to Korea, he is in Pusan for the first time to film scenes for the movie adaptation of his mega-hit TV drama series “Hero”. He held a press conference alongside co-star Lee Byung Hun (36, photo right), who is also hugely popular in Japan. “Hero” was the most successful drama series ever for Fuji TV. It achieved an phenomenal audience rating of over 30% for each of its 11 episodes in 2001, a feat probably only Kimutaku has enough appeal to pull off. A special episode was shown last summer and was again a big hit. Directed by Suzuki Masayuki, the movie is scheduled to open on September 8. The cast also includes the father and daughter combination of kabuki actor Matsumoto Koshiro (64) and actress Matsu Takako (29), as well as comedian Morita “Tamori” Kazuki (61).

• Just two days after we reported on the new musical direction for Tsuji Nozomi (19) she has been laid low by an acute stomach ulcer. The former Morning Musume member has been ordered to take at least 10 days rest and has had to step down from her role in a theatrical production due to open on May 4. Her role will be covered alternately by Momus graduate Ishikawa Rika (22) and current group leader Yoshizawa Hitomi (22), who is due to leave the group on May 6. The perky Tsuji has clearly been under a lot of stress recently. She has been in rehearsals not only for the stage musical but also to lead the recently launched pop trio Gyaruru. That group came about after Kago Ai (19), her partner in the duo W, was fired from the Hello! Project for repeated underage smoking.

• Canadian singer Avril Lavigne (22) has released a Japanese version of her hit “Girlfriend”, No.1 on the latest U.S. chart. Currently touring in Japan, she held a PR event yesterday to promote her new album, “Best Damn Thing”. She revealed that the Japanese version is available from today as a “chaku-uta”, for download to mobile phones. The event was followed by a “secret” live performance.

Talento Eguchi Tomomi (39) suffered a nasty accident while filming a TBS variety show yesterday. She was riding a 125cc buggy bike at the Nasu Buggy Park in Tochigi Prefecture when she took a spill, suffering a blow to her lower back and damaging her kidney. She was taken by ambulance to a local hospital where she underwent surgery. She has been told to take two weeks complete bed rest. Eguchi is married to talento Tsumami Edamame (49).

Also yesterday, actor Ichinose Hidekazu (32) broke his right leg while filming a drama series for NHK. The accident happened as he was shooting a scene where he jumped from a six-foot high wall. He has a supporting role in all episodes of “Natsu Kumo Agare”, due to air from June 8. But as he has already completed most of his scenes, production is unlikely to be affected.

• Popular actress Fukada Kyoko (24) has been romantically linked with actor Sainei Ryuji (25), according to the latest issue of weekly magazine “Friday”. The pair were spotted holding hands while reading magazines in a Tokyo convenience store earlier this month. Sainei plays the Deka Red character on the popular action hero series “Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger” and appeared with Fukada on her TV Asahi detective drama series “Fugoh Keiji”.

• Actress and former pro wrestler Noumi Kayo (30) has married a member of dance unit PaniCrew. She and Horiuchi Kazuyoshi (32), known as Hori, announced yesterday that they tied the knot on April 15, an auspicious “taian” day in the Shinto calendar. They bare planning a wedding and reception in the autumn. They had been dating for about five years, according to a mutual friend. But as relationships are basically taboo for active wrestlers, they had to keep it under wraps until Noumi retired from the sport in April 2004. With her slender build and good looks, she was a big draw in the wrestling circuit. She has still to make much of a name for herself as an actress as she has appeared mostly in theatrical productions.

• Visual-kei rock band Shazna have made their comeback after seven years. Led by the no longer cross-dressing Izam (34), they performed their new single “Kokoro” at an event in Tokyo yesterday. Izam also talked about his new son, born on April 17. He is married to talento Yoshioka Miho (27).