Latest News from Japan Zone & Japan Store

Could they big the next big showbiz couple? Media mouths are watering at the prospect of romance between singer Gackt (age unknown) and actress Yonekura Ryoko (30). The pair appeared together yesterday in Tokyo at a PR event for the new TV commercial by Takano Yuri Beauty Clinic. Takano herself pushed the issue several times, asking the pair whether there was any romance between them. This was no doubt calculated to create more buzz about the commercial, and they played along by being as vague as possible. Dressed in matching white outfits, they arrived arm in arm and admitted that they were, at the very least, good friends who sometimes go out for dinner together. They also co-starred in last year’s commercial, which featured Yonekura in a wedding dress. Following her breakup with kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo (28) last spring, the press have been speculating about who the next lucky guy will be. Gackt, who made his name as the vocalist of a “visual-kei” rock band, is more than a match for her in terms of looks and star status. But his very successful solo career has been as much about style as substance, and romance might hurt his usual androgynous and mysterious image.

• Actor Yanagiba Toshiro (45) is Japan’s ideal showbiz Dad. The popular actor and former singer was chosen in the entertainment category of this year’s “Best Father Yellow Ribbon Awards”, held yesterday at a Tokyo hotel. Yanagiba brought his wife and 6-year old daughter to the award ceremony. He recently moved the family to his hometown in Akita Prefecture for the sake of his daughter, who just started elementary school. He said, “The thing I enjoy most is talking with my daughter as we take a bath together”, referring to a common practice in Japan.

• The current trend in TV dramas about flight attendants seems to be continuing. Mizuki Arisa (29) will play one for the first time in the new NTV series “CA to O-Yobi!” (Call Me a Cabin Attendant!), set to air on Wednesday nights from next month. Filming began in Okinawa yesterday, with former models Mizuki, Karina (22) and Nishida Naomi (34) all in bathing suits for their first scene. The Japanese often refer to flight attendants as “succhi”, derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the word stewardess.

As expected, the debut solo single by Yamashita Tomohisa (photo, 21) has gone straight to No.1 in the Oricon chart. “Daite Senorita” is the theme of the TBS drama “Kurosagi”, in which he stars, and is the best-selling single by a solo male artist since Kuwata Keisuke’s “Shiroi Koibito-tachi” in 2001. Yamashita has had six chart toppers as a member of the Johnny’s Jimusho unit NEWS, and also released one of the biggest singles of the last six months, “Seishun Amigo”, as one half of the duo Shuji & Akira with KAT-TUN’s Kamenashi Kazuya (20). The latest single has already sold over 700,000 copies since it went on sale May 31. Yamashita also features in the new TV commercial for major beauty clinic chain TBC, which shows the singer in a shower scene.

• Oricon this week also released the overall rankings for the first half of this year. KAT-TUN’s “Real Face” is the only million seller of the year so far, followed by “Konayuki” by Remioromen (which only reached No.2 in the chart), “Seishun Amigo”, “Tada…Aitakute” by Exile, and “Supernova/Karuma” by Bump of Chicken. SMAP also have a couple of singles in the Top 10.

• Also topping the charts is the debut single from jealkb, the “visual-kei” rock band led by comedian Tamura Atsushi. “Metronome” has sold only a few thousand copies and is at No.63 in the overall Oricon chart, but that’s enough to put it on top of the indie rankings. Five of the seven band members are with Yoshimoto Kogyo, the agency that represents most of Japan’s top comedy acts. But Atsushi, best known as one half of London Boots, is clearly taking the project seriously. Using the stage name haderu, he wrote the music and lyrics for the new single and the band have a very professional website (http://jealkb.jp/). They also have top-notch support, including L’Arc en Ciel’s sleeve designer, makeup artist of the late X Japan guitarist Hide, and famous visual-kei photographer Tanaka Kazuko.

• Former Morning Musume member Yaguchi Mari (23) has broken up with actor Oguri Shun (23), according to this week’s issue of “Josei Jishin” magazine. Her agency confirmed that the two have not seen each other since April.

AKB48 may be the pop group of the moment. Yesterday all 37 members of the idol group appeared in Akihabara, the spiritual home of Japan’s geek culture and the place where offshoots like maid cafes and the concept of “moe” were born. They performed 12 songs including their second single “Skirt, Hirari”, wearing mini-skirts which they duly flashed to reveal their “bloomers” underneath. All pure schoolboy fantasy stuff that had the 1,000 fans screaming for more. The group – the AKB is an abbreviation of Akihabara – were formed in 2005 as two troupes of 24 members, though the numbers have dropped to 20 and 17. One troupe performs every day at a special theater in the district nicknamed “Electric Town”. With tickets priced at ¥1,000, the marketing concept is to have a group that fans can afford to “meet” every day. The oldest member is 22 and most are in their mid-teens. It remains to be seen whether AKB48 can have the broad appeal or staying power to become the new Morning Musume.

• Singer/songwriter Otsuka Ai (23) is making her move to the big screen. She is currently in New York filming scenes for the movie version of “Tokyo Friends”. It follows on from the DVD drama series in which she starred with model/actor Eita and actresses Kobayashi Mao, Matsumoto Rio and Maki Yoko, all beautiful people and all 23 years old. The DVD drama plot revolved around Otsuka’s character and her move to Tokyo to form a band. Eita’s character was taken on as the vocalist but he diappeared. The movie finds him living in the Big Apple where Otsuka tracks him down. The movie is due for release in August.

• Fans of Carlos Santana will probably already know of the legendary album “Lotus”, recorded live during two concerts in Osaka in 1974. The album captured Santana during the heart of their jazz-rock period and is considered one of the best live albums ever recorded. The huge 11-part album sleeve, designed by Yokoo Tadanori (69), is expected to enter the Guinness Book of World Records this month as the biggest ever. It was also hugely exensive to produce, with Japan at the time suffering from high paper prices resulting from the “oil shock”. The album is to be re-released this week on CD, with a scaled-down version of the original sleeve.

Actress Ishihara Marie (42) is to make her TV drama comeback after 15 years in “the wilderness”. She will resume using her stage name of Ishihara Mariko, actually her real name which she abandoned shortly after she left Japan to live abroad 15 years ago. She is set to star in a TBS drama series planned for the autumn. She appears on tonight’s episode of NHK’s English language learning show “Eigo de Shaberanaito” and talks about her years away from showbiz. After making her debut in 1980, Ishihara became one of the country’s top actresses following the success of the drama series “Fuzoroi no Ringo-tachi”. But with an image as being outspoken and following a series of scandals, she left for Los Angeles in 1991. In 1993, she published a book of nude photos called “Marie!” She lived briefly in Paris before returning to the US. During those years she studied astronomy and psychology at college. She finally came back to Japan in 2004 and, finding that country had changed a lot, decided to stay.

• Actress Amami Yuki was recognized this week for her contributions to broadcasting last year. In its annual Galactic Awards, the Japan Council for Better Radio and Televesion chose Amami for the individual award following her starring roles in four separate TV drama series in 2005. In particular, her role as the “demon” teacher in “Jo no Kyoshitsu” on the NTV network was hugely successful. The award for best TV show went to the TBS drama “Tiger & Dragon”.

The members of pop group SMAP got quite a surprise last night when Michael Jackson made an unannounced visit to the studio where they were recording the Fuji TV show “SMAPxSMAP”. Jackson arrived on the set in the middle of a performance, catching the five local superstars completely by surprise. Group leader Nakai Masahiro (33) could only gape, wide-mouthed, while Katori Shingo (29) fell laughing to the floor at the sight of “nama Maikeru”. After they recovered, they exchanged high fives and Jackson chatted with them for about ten minutes and praised their singing (well, as a guest I suppose you have to be polite!). His appearance will be included on the episode that airs on Monday, June 5.

• Not such good news for TBS on another front. Almost a thousand cases of health problems have been reported by viewers of a show that promoted a diet based on white kidney beans. Of the total, over 100 people have had to visit hospital. The “Piikan Body” show was broadcast on May 6 and featured a way of losing weight by adding ground roasted kidney beans to rice. Th chairman of TBS has publicly apologized and sent letters to all of the reported victims.

• Singer Nakashima Mika (23) made a guest appearance at yesterday’s concert by Elvis Costello. Costello was playing at a church in Shinagawa, Tokyo with legendary blues pianist Allen Toussaint (68), who in turn produced Nakashima’s latest single. “All Hands Together” was recorded in New Orleans. Toussaint described the Japanese star as having a “heavenly voice”.

Imamura Shohei, one of Japan’s greatest movie directors, died of multiple organ failure at a Tokyo hospital yesterday afternoon. He was 79. He won the Palme d’Or grand prize at the Cannes International Film Festival twice, with “Narayama Bushikou” (Ballad of the Narayama) in 1983 and “Unagi” (The Eel) in 1997. Actor Yakusho Koji (50), who starred in Unagi, said “It was truly an honor to have a chance to work with Imamura-kantoku (director). He taught me so much. I wanted to see him make many more movies. He was a treasure of the Japanese movie industry.” Yakusho recently visited Imamura in hospital before leaving for this year’s Cannes festival, where the movie “Babel” in which he supports Brad Pitt, won the Director’s Prize. Imamura began as an assistant director under the master Ozu Yasujiro at the Shochiku studio and made his first movie in 1958. But he was not really a studio player and moved toward a less stylized manner than that of classical Japanese cinema and was not afraid to tackle taboo subjects. The common theme in his movies was the nature of Man and the recurring question of what it means to be a working class Japanese. At the time that his first Palme d’Or was being announced in Cannes, he was playing mahjong in Tokyo. He also left the festival early in 1997, sure that Unagi had no chance of winning the top award. A heavy smoker who enjoyed shochu, he had a gourmet’s palette, despite suffering from diabetes from his late 20s. He was diagnosed with colon cancer last summer, and though he underwent surgery, the cancer had spread to other organs. He was hospitalized several times and spent most of his last week in a semi-conscious state.

• Singer Naito Yasuko (55) has been hospitalized following a brain hemorrhage. She felt unwell during a dinner show in Fukui Prefecture on Sunday and collapsed after coming off stage. She was rushed to hospital but is expected to make a full recovery.

Michael Jackson (47) caused another crowd panic in Shibuya last night when he decided to try his hand at pachinko. He had the “Maruhan” pachinko parlor in Shibuya all to himself after it closed at 11pm, but a crowd quickly gathered outside and the police were called in to keep order. Jackson was seen to wildly enjoy the unique Japanese game, which combines pinball with the gambling of slot machines. It’s illegal to win money in the parlor itself, but the media didn’t mention if he had to slip around the corner to a separate booth to pick up his prizes. Earlier in the evening, he held a private party at an exclusive French restaurant in Aoyama. About 100 people were in attendance, including the glamorous Kano Sisters, former X Japan member Yoshiki (40), and actress Mizuki Arisa (29).

• Drumming group Kodo are to play this summer’s Fuji Rock Festival. They will be the first instrumental group to perform on the festival’s main stage. Though in no sense a rock group, Kodo have wowed music fans in Japan and worldwide for the last 25 years and are sure to be a big hit at Fuji Rock. They have performed in 43 countries, including Norway for a concert commemorating the 100th Nobel Prize ceremony in 2001.

• Actress Ishiki Sae (29) is expecting her third child. She made her return to work yesterday on an NHK show, only to announce that she was five months pregnant. She married American-Japanese entrepreneur and former model Sarfen Satoshi (29) in 2002, as her acting career was hitting a peak.

• Actress Mimura (21) is seriously involved with Japanese-born Korean conductor Kim Seikyo (36), according to today’s issue of the weekly magazine Flash. The couple are said to have met on the set of last year’s movie “Kono Mune Ippai no Ai wo”. Mimura is an up and coming name, and starred in the movie “Chakushin Ari 2” (One Missed Call 2). Kim was born in Osaka, where he is a resident conductor with the Century Orchestra.

Actor Okada Masumi died early this morning of cancer. He was 70. Born in Nice, France to a Danish mother and Japanese father, he was one of the most popular supporting actors of the postwar era, appearing in a wide variety of TV, movie and musical theater roles. With his command of English and French and a deep booming voice, he was often the emcee of variety shows and beauty contests. His nickname was “FanFan.” He was married three times, including a first “contractual” marriage to choreographer Yoneyama Mamako.

• The legendary Michael Jackson (47) is in town since the weekend, making his first public appearance since being acquited on child molestation charges last year. He was making his first trip to Japan in eight years and was honored at the MTV Music Video Awards Japan on Saturday. On Sunday he visited an institute for handicapped children. His car was mobbed by screaming fans but Jackson wasn’t fazed, opening his window to sign autographs.

• Actress Mashita Konomi (28), who had been expecting her first child, revealed at the weekend that she lost the baby at the beginning of the month. She and her non-showbiz husband (39) married in June 2004. Mashita made her debut in a TV commercial at the age of four and was a popular child actress.

• NHK has revealed the extent of its financial scandals. After a former chief producer in the national network’s sports department was found in 2004 to have claimed millions of yen for fictional business trips, the company carried out extensive investigations. The findings have turned up some 287 cases involving 194 employees, who stole a total of more than ¥3.5 million in taxpayer’s money. Further false claims by the chief producer have also been discovered and will lead to a police case.

• “Babel”, the Brad Pitt Hollywood movie that also features Yakusho Koji (50), has been awarded the Director’s Prize at the Cannes International Film Festival.

Popular comedian Ota Hikari (47) recently received a written warning from an extreme rightist group. One half of the comedy duo Bakusho Mondai, Ota has brought his more serious face to the variety show circuit and often discusses political and social issues with intelligence and insight. His Tokyo management agency revealed on Friday that the chief of the Nagasaki-based rightist group Seikijuku visited them in April and delivered a one-page A4 letter. The letter condemned an anti-Japan remark supposedly made by Ota on the radio. It turned out the remark was never made and was the fabrication of a poster on an online forum. A bodyguard was assigned to Ota and police patroled the area around his agency in Suginami Ward. The Seikijuku chief was imprisoned for 12 years for the attempted murder of the mayor of Nagasaki in 1990 following a remark that the emperor had been responsible for Japan’s entry into World War II. Such “uyoku dantai” rightist groups are thinly veiled political organizations run by the yazuka.

• Actor Hayami Mokomichi (21) got a double shock on Friday. The weekly gossip magazine Friday published a story revealing a romance with a young actress. Mokomichi later in the day admitted was a good friend, though nothing more, from his college days. What he claims he didn’t known was that she is an AV (porno) actress. He said she probably hadn’t told him because she feared he would no longer want to be seen with her as his career is just taking off. He insisted that he has no intention of breaking off their friendship.

Chart ranking company Oricon is celebrating its 40th year in the business. To mark the occasion, it has released a ranking of the biggest sellers of the past four decades. Top of the male rankings is rock group B’z, who have sold a staggering 41,450,000 albums and 33,210,000 singles. They also have the most million-selling singles (15) and albums (19). And the best-selling female artist is Matsuyoya Yumi, with a total of 29,300,000 albums sold. Hamasaki Ayumi has sold the most singles, currently 19,840,000. With B’z still very much on top of their game, their records will keep extending and are unlikely to be beaten anytime soon. Yuming is somewhat past her heyday and has the likes of Hamasaki and Utada Hikaru on her tail. Johnny’s Jimusho pop duo Kinki Kids got a mention for the fact that every single (22) and album (6) they’ve ever released has gone to top of the Oricon charts. Other record holders are folk singer Inoue Yosui, who topped the album chart for 68 weeks in a row, and 80s idol duo Pink Lady who held the No.1 spot on the singles chart for 63 straight weeks.

• NHK announcer Shimazu Yuriko (32) is engaged to marry a lawyer in September. According to the “Shukan Bunshun” weekly magazine, the pair met last year when Shimazu was on vacation in New York, where her fiancee was working. They started going out when he returned to Japan.

• Actress Uchida Yuki (30) is to make her drama comeback. She will appear alongside Tamura Masakazu (62) in the TBS drama series “Dare yorimo Mama wo Aisu”, starting on July 2. It will be Uchida’s first work since she and actor Yoshioka Hidetaka (35) divorced last December, and her first dramatic role she they starred together in “Kita no Kuni Kara” in 2002. It was that long-running series that brought them together, and they even got married on location in Furano, Hokkaido.