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Someone has finally won the heart of Japan-based Korean beauty Yoon Sona (30). Renowned for her “majime” (seriousness) and refusal to enter into relationships easily, the popular talento surprised everyone with yesterday’s announcement of her engagement. Her eligibility has been used more than once on variety shows that try and fix celebrities up with each other, but she has refused every time. The man who has finally won her over is described as a 36-year old Korean entrepreneur, who runs businesses connected with the movie industry and restaurants in Seoul. They are said to have been introduced by a mutual friend in March and, with the approval of both sets of parents, have already planned their wedding. It will be held at the plush ShinRa Hotel in Seoul on September 16. Yoon, who plans to continue her career in Japan, shuttling back and forth to Seoul, will hold a press conference at the hotel on Friday. An up and coming star of Korean TV drama, Yoon gave it up to come to Japan six years ago. The timing couldn’t have been better, as it was before the co-hosted World Cup in 2002 and the subsequent boom in Korean culture here. She has mastered the Japanese language and established herself as a regular on the variety show circuit as well as appearing in TV dramas. She has also launched a singing career using the name Sona.

• Another Asian starlet was back in Japan for the first time in four years. Taiwanese talento Vivian Tsu (31) was in Tokyo to promote the movie “Kutsu wo Koisuru Ningyo” (The Shoe Fairy). She met up with comedy duo Kyaeen, with whom she recorded a hit single “Timing” back in the 90s, when she was a TV regular here.

• “Hero”, Monday’s one-off reprisal of the hugely successful 2001 Fuji TV drama, managed a very respectable 30.9% audience rating. It is the 7th-highest rating for the year, and the best by a non-sports related show. With SMAP heart-throb Kimura Takuya (33) in the lead role, the show’s success was hardly a surprise – the original managed over 30% for each of its 11 episodes. But with a subtitle announcing the retirement of soccer star Nakata Hidetoshi appearing on the screen just after the show started, it was perhaps only the idol appeal of Kimutaku that could have kept viewers from changing the channel.

Japan’s most successful soccer star Nakata Hidetoshi (29) shocked the country with the announcement of his retirement yesterday. He issued a statement on his official website, nakata.net, saying “About six months ago, I decided to end my ten-year career in professional football, making the World Cup in Germany my final event before retirement. There was no one particular event that triggered this. And there is no single reason behind my decision.” This was no doubt an effort to dispel speculation that he was devastated by Japan’s lackluster performance at the World Cup. He added, “But what I can say now is that I felt that it was time for me to graduate from the journey of professional football, and set out on a new journey.” The media are already speculating on the chances of a career in the media. Nakata currently has sponsorship contracts with five major companies and is a regular in TV commercials. He is in the same class as Major League baseball stars Ichiro and Matsui Hideki, making ¥50-100 million a year for commercials. While sports stars usually lose commercial value when they retire, Nakata’s World Cup performance and analysis and the timing of his retirement are thought to have sponsors and media outlets coveting him even more.

• Actress Shaku Yumiko (28) is romantically involved with another company president. According to the latest issue of Shuukan Josei women’s magazine, Shaku is dating Nojiri Yoshitaka (33), CEO of bridal planning startup Take and Give – Needs. The company is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Nojiri is considered one of japan’s most eligible bachelors. The pair are said to have met while Shaku was working on a recent drama series and started off as “meerutomo” (e-mail friends). They started dating after filming finished in mid-June, and were spotted together at a kabuki performance in Tokyo on June 24. Shaku was previously involved with Tanigawa Hiroto (35), president of the management agency that represents singer Misia. They are said to have broken up in January 2005. Meanwhile, Nojiri was linked with TV Asahi announcer Takeuchi Emi (29) at the end of last year, but they split up in the spring.

• This year’s Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival has been cancelled due to financial problems. The festival’s executive committee said they currently have no plans to restart the event, which has been held every autumn since 1985.

Comedy made a surprise visit to the Imperial family on Sunday. Popular young comedy duo Oriental Radio were the celebrity guests at NTV’s 26th national high school quiz, recorded at the Jingu Stadium in Tokyo. Fujimori Shingo (photo right, 23) was in the baseball stadium with 6504 high school students from the Kanto area as announcer Suzuki Takashi gave out the first question. Contestants had two choices, “maru” (true) or “batsu” (false). The correct answer was to be given by Fujimori’s comic partner Nakata Atsuhiko (photo left) landing in the “maru” space by parachute. Accompanied by an instructor, Nakata jumped from a helicopter at about 2,000m, but the pair were caught by a sudden gust of wind and blown off course. The instructor aimed for the nearest open space about a kilometer away, which unbeknownst to him was inside the Akasaka Imperial Palace grounds. The palace is home to the Crown Prince and his family, making a intrusion a serious breach of security. But the pair got away with a stern warning from the Imperial Guards. Meanwhile, back at the stadium, home of the Yakult Swallows baseball team, dance/vocal unit AAA were performing the quiz’s theme song “Q”. The show will air on NTV September 1.

• The Yoshimoto Kogyo travelling comedy roadshow hit Los Angeles at the weekend and got a rousing reception. The troupe, led by Imada Koji and including other stars like Higashino Koji, Yamada Hanako and Razor Ramon HG (Hard Gay), performed a new two and a half hour show called “Sapuraizu Darake no Uedingu” (Wedding Full of Surprises). It was the first show by a Japanese theatrical group at the famous Kodak Theater, home of the annual Academy Awards show. The audience of 2,600 was made up almost entirely of Japanese living in the city, but the arrival of the show got a 2-page spread in the L.A. Times that asked, “Will Japanese Humor Travel Well?”

• “Limit of Love”, the sequel to the successful movie “UmiZaru” (Sea Monkeys), was recently shown at the N.Y. Asian Film Festival, and it was announced yesterday that a major Hollywood studio is interested in remaking the original. The story of romance and friendship among a group of Japan Coast Guard trainees was one of the big summer hits of 2004 and made a star of Ito Hideaki. Its sequel has done equally well this year, so far pulling in ¥6.5 billion at the box office.

Talento Hinagata Akiko (photo, 28) has denied the rumor that appeared in a recent women’s weekly magazine saying that she is the true love of singer Nishikawa Takanori, better known as TM Revolution (35). Appearing at a PR event for Taiwanese fruit yesterday, she insisted that Nishikawa was an old friend and nothing more. He is said to be involved with Seto Saki (21), who is with the same Suns Entertainment management agency as Hinagata. Both stars are divorcees: Hinagata was married to TV commercial director from 1998 to 2003 and they had one child; Nishikawa was married to Yoshimura Yumi, one half of the pop duo Puffy, from 1999 to 2002.

• Talento Enamoto Kanako (25) gave birth to her second child yesterday morning at a Tokyo hospital. She and retired Yohohama Bay Stars and Seattle Mariners baseball star Sasaki “Daimajin” Kazuhiro (38) have been married since last year, when he divorced former talento Shimizu Kaori.

• Singer Hajime Chitose (27) finished her national tour yesterday with a show at Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo. It was her first tour since getting married in 2004 and becoming a mother. She was joined on stage for one song by singer Yamazaki Masayoshi (34), who is with the same management agency.

Johnny’s Jimusho yesterday announced its first international collaboration project. Yamashita Tomohisa (photo, 21), a member of the group News, is to team up with pair of Thai pop stars and several other Johnny’s members to form a new group. The 7-member Kitty Gym will be active for a limited time only, as it is being formed purely to promote the upcoming Women’s Volleyball World Grand Prix. The event opens in Tokyo on August 18 and the group will record the official “ouen” song. The Thai stars are popular brothers Golf (19) and Mike (16), who were members of the Thai Jr. idol group set up by the local Johnny’s office in 2002. They have participated in several recording and live events in Japan. The rest of the group will be made up of four members of Johnny’s Jr.

• Matsumoto Kouta (27), one half of the comedy duo Regular, got hitched yesterday. He announced to fans at the Yoshimoto Hall in Tokyo that he and his new wife Megumi (29) had earlier registered their marriage at the city office. Comic partner Nishikawa Akihiro (26) even dressed up in a wig and white sleeveless dress to give the audience an idea of what the newlyweds look like.

Kyogen actor Izumi Motoya (32) is in trouble again. This time it’s the tax authorities that have him in their sights, as the company that represents his business interests is charged with hiding over ¥150 million in income. Accounting errors are said to amount to over ¥200 million, and the company is facing an additional tax bill of more than ¥100 million. While Motoya himself is a director of Izumi Souke, the company is headed by his overbearing mother Setsuko. She is said to have denied the existence of an “off the books” bank account, into which payments for theaterical and TV performances were made. The incident comes at a bad time for Izumi, as it follows the recent Supreme Court rejection of an appeal against his dismissal from the official Nohgaku Kyokai. The organization kicked him out following a series of cancelled performances, double-bookings and publicity stunts that were considered to have damaged the traditional art form, which dates back to the 14th century. He has since continued in the same vein, even recently taking part in full costume in a pro wrestling event.

• Suzuki Ami (24) has teamed up with Avex labelmate Otsuka Ai (23) to produce her latest single. ‘Amigo’ penned the lyrics for “Like a Love?”, while Otsuka was in charge of the music and arrangement. The pair became friends after they performed together in Avex’s annual “a-nation” festival last year.

• “Hysteric Summer 2006”, an outdoor music festival scheduled for the end of July in Fukushima Prefecture, has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Less than 10% of the total 15,000 tickets had been sold, despite the lineup including such fairly popular acts as Da Pump, Suzuki Masayuki (49), and Jay Walk. Organizers are refunding the costs of tickets sold.

Yesterday I described the ailing Shimada Shinsuke as one of the hardest working men in Japanese showbiz. But the undisputed champion is Mino Monta (61), and it’s now official. The latest issue of Forbes magazine mentions Mino in an article related to its annual Celebrity 100. The local media has picked this up as though he were the first Japanese to appear in the list of the world’s top stars. Of course, he doesn’t enjoy anywhere near the global celebrity status of Tom Cruise, Tiger Woods or even fellow countryman Watanabe Ken. But his incredibly gruelling schedule, that sees him working ten regular shows and has him on air a whopping 35 hours a week, makes him the country’s highest-paid TV star. Forbes reports his annual income as $10 million, though that is probably just for the regular shows and doesn’t include book royalties and TV commercials.

• Hamasaki Ayumi (27) has reached a remarkable milestone. With her 40th sinle “Blue Bird” entering the Oricon charts at No.1 and having sold over 160,000 copies in its first week of release, she is the first solo artist to have sold over 20 million. The only other artists to manage that feat are B’z, Southern All Stars, Mr. Children and SMAP. All groups and all male, except for SAS keyboard player Hara Yuko. Hamasaki has also extended her own record of No.1 singles to 27, the most by any female artist (Matsuda Seiko is No.2 with 25 and unlikely to have too many more).

Singer Utada Hikaru (23) is gearing up to go back on the road. Following the recent release of her first original album in four years, she is set to go on tour from July 1 to September 10. She held a rehearsal at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba Prefecture on Sunday, her first live performance since playing at Nippon Budokan in 2004. The show was attended by about 3,000 people from the press and music industry. She put on almost a full show, based around tracks from “Ultra Blue” but also including almost all of her 19 singles, which have sold over 17 million copies to date. Her upcoming tour, the first since her exhaustion-interrupted debut national road trip six years ago, will take in 11 cities across the country. The “Utada Unite 2006” show will feature visuals designed by her husband, Kiriya Kazuaki.

• Hamasaki Ayumi (27), Koda Kumi (23) and Otsuka Ai (23) were among the stars performing at a special show yesterday for 4,400 Avex shareholders at the Tokyo International Forum. The record label saw record sales last year of ¥89.7 billion, with profits up more than five-fold, and seems to have overcome the internal power struggle that shook the company in 2004. Hamasaki arrived on stage accompanied by birds before launching into her latest single, “Blue Bird”.

• Master emcee Shimada Shinsuke (50) has taken time off work to recover from illness. One of the hardest working people in showbiz, the former comedian was recently diagnosed with tonsilitis and forced to cancel the recording of one of his several regular weekly shows.

• Fuji TV presenter Ogura Tomoaki (59) was robbed during his recent visit to Germany. The host of the daily “Tokudane” morning wide show was in Germany for what was to be Japan’s final World Cup game against Brazil. His room at a top-class hotel in Dortmund was broken into while he was at the game. His money and passport were in a safe and untouched. But various country team shirts that he had bought as souvenirs were stolen – all except the Japnese shirts.

If it works for The Simpsons…popular young stars Hayami Mokomichi (21) and Aibu Saki (21) are to be the first actors to appear as themselves on the long-running TV Asahi anime series Doraemon. Yesterday the pair were in the studio to record their parts for the June 30 one-hour special episode, a tie-up with their upcoming drama series “Regatta”, also on TV Asahi from July 14. During its 27-year run, Doraemon has become a TV institution that handles moral issues with a light touch but rarely brings in the real world. Singer Watanabe Misato (39), who once sang the show’s theme song, is the only star to have made an appearance. In the upcoming episode, self-centered main character Nobita and his friend Doraemon, a robot cat from the future, happen across the riverside location shoot of a drama series. The tall Mokomichi, who looks like he stepped from the pages of a manga, is hugely popular these days with girls of all ages. In Regatta he plays a university rowing team star who gives up the sport after the death of his friend. But love develops between him and the team manager, played by Aibu, who persuades him to aim again for his dream of rowing in the Olympics.

• Up-and-coming Fuji TV announcer Hirai Rio (23) is romantically involved with a director from the same network. According to the weekly magazine Friday, the “Suporuto” presenter was spotted on a trip to the mountain resort of Karuizawa with the handsome 27-year old, like Hirai a Keio University graduate. The couple met last year while working on a late-night show, and started dating in May. Hirai was a model and “idol talento” before joining Fuji TV in April 2005.

• Morning Musume member Takahashi Ai (19) is to have her first dramatic leading role. She will star in a new drama series on the GyaO network, Usen’s Internet TV channel, that has global warming as its main theme. Takahashi also sings the theme song for the series.

Hollywood-based actor Watanabe Ken (46) had a lot to be thankful for yesterday. His latest domestic production, “Ashita no Kioku” (Tomorrow’s Memories), has started an extended run and has already been seen by over 1.7 million movie-goers. Watanabe met about 280 of them at the Cine Citta theater in Kawasaki yesterday. He reassured them that he is doing well in his battle with Hepatitis C, which he revealed in his recently published autobiography. Distribution deals for the movie are all but tied up for China, Hong Kong and South Korea, while negotiations are ongoing for a U.S. release. Watanabe stars in the film and also acted as executive producer.

• Popular group Southern All Stars yesterday announced that they have put together a major outdoor event this summer. The two-day festival at the Hamanako Garden Park in Shizuoka Prefecture will also feature such big acts as Mr. Children, Glay, Dragon Ash, Porno Graffitti and Fukuyama Masaharu. The event will be attended by over 120,000 fans on August 26-27. Also on the bill is Kayama Yuzo (69), a major star from the 60s, who will have the All Stars as his backing band.

• The father of injured New York Yankees star Matsui “Gojira” Hideki (32) says he hasn’t heard from his son about the reported breakup with actress Toda Naho (32). He told a press conference held after he performed at an enka concert that he thought his son was the right age to get married. He said they have talked several times recently and the subject of the rumored split simply hasn’t come up.