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Married this week was Harada Rika (photo, 34), a member of the 90s “sexy group” Giri-Giri Girls, who is also expecting a baby in May. Her new husband is a company employee who she met at a friend’s birthday party four years ago. The five-member Giri-Giri Girls were a staple of late-night TV for several years from 1992. They had a couple of music releases and even won a Best Newcomer award in 1993. Harada is the third member to marry – Yoshino Mika married Mr. Children vocalist Sakurai Kazutoshi in 2000, and Mochizuki Rumi married a company employee in 2004.

• Another marriage announcement came from NHK announcer Zemba Takako (30), who revealed this week that she and former musician Sena Shunsuke (32) got hitched last October. She plans to quit NHK in March and join her husband in London, where he works for Sony. Sena spent much of his childhood in Europe, returning to Japan in his late teens to enter Tokyo University, where he first met Zemba. He formed a duo with his sister Rie while still a student and continued even after joining Sony in 1998, releasing four singles. It is Zemba’s second marriage, her first ending in divorce in 2003.

• And one step behind in the baby front is TBS announcer Ando Hiroki (38), whose wife, former talento Kawahata Yuka (30), is expecting their first child this summer. Considered one of the best-looking couples in showbiz, they met while making “Sekai Fushigi Hakken” in 2004 and have been married since last September.

• Reports that actor Sugawara Bunta (72) had been hospitalized and was expected to undergo surgery have been denied. He is said to have suffered a cold in mid-January, but nothing more serious than that. It was also reported that he stepped down from his planned lead role in a stage production in March, but a spokesperson fr the theater says the decision to replace him with Watanabe Hiroyuki was made in December. Sugawara is best known for his tough guy yakuza image in the Fukasaku Kinji-directed movie series “Jingi Naki Tatakai” and as a truck driver in the “Torakku Yarou” series, both from the 70s.

Idol singer Matsuura Aya (19) is to revive the role of Asamiya Saki after an absence of 18 years from the big screen. The character is central to the hugely popular 80s TV series “Sukeban Deka”, and has previously been played on TV and in movies by notable idols Saito Yuki (39), Minamino Yoko (38) and Asaka Yui (36). Each played the role on TV for a year or so, with Minamino and Asaka each making one movie. Asamiya is a high school “detective”, complete with sailor girl uniform, who wields a red yoyo in her battles with criminals. The story was originally a manga by Wada Shinji, and its 22 volumes sold over 20 million copies. “Sukeban Deka, Codename Asamiya Saki” will be Ayaya’s second movie but her first lead role, and she will be under the able direction of Fukasaku Kenta (33). The son of the late, great Fukasaku Kinji is best known for taking over from his father to complete “Battle Royale II”. Filming is scheduled to start this month, with the movie set for an autumn release.

• Singer Go Hiromi (50) is to celebrate his 35th year in showbiz with a series of dinner shows and an outdoor concert in Tokyo this summer. Speaking to the media at his large Manhattan apartment, Go said he will give the dinner shows – usually a type of event only held at the end of the year – at 30 venues across the country between May and August. Then he will release a new single and play an outdoor concert in Hibiya in September. He is currently taking singing lesons twice a week with a teacher who has worked with, among others, Whitney Houston.

Actor Takaoka Sousuke (23) has had a change of name and management. Known mostly for his movie roles, such as “Pachigi”, “Battle Royale” and “Haru no Yuki”, it was announced at the weekend that he has changed to the Stardust Promotion management agency. He will also have his first leading role on stage in the play “Wee Thomas”, described as a “violence comedy”, adapted from the British original by popular playwright Nagatsuka Keishi (30). The change of name is in the second kanji of Sousuke, though it is pronounced the same.

• Popular idol singer Goto Maki (20) has been told to take two weeks rest after being diagnosed with acute enteritis. Just a week ago, she showed no signs of illness when she performed with other members of the Hello! Project on the final date of their national tour at the Yokohama Arena, but complained of stomach pains after the event. Though she doesn’t need to be hospitalized, she has had to pull out of another Hello! Project event scheduled for later this month in Tokyo. Her place will be taken by Melon Kinenbi member Shibata Ayumi (21).

• Sugimoto Hisashi, the father of comedian Akashiya Sanma (50), died of heart failure at a Nara hospital on Saturday. He was 78. Sanma took his stage name from the name of a fish (sanma = Pacific saury) as his father ran a fish processing business.

• Popular screenwriter and punk musician Kudo Kankuro (35) gave a press conference recently for his upcoming heavy metal stage production of Macbeth. The show, starring popular actress Matsu Takako (28) and actor Uchino Masaaki (37), will feature 19 original hard rock and metal songs by Kudo. He said he previously knew nothing of Shakespeare but was attracted by the line from Macbeth where the character says his mind is “full of scorpions”. Matsu said she felt she had almost been tricked into playing the role, but added that she looked forward to screaming four-letter words on stage.

Popular At shrines and temples across the country yesterday, celebrities took part in events to celebrate Setsubun. Throwing handfuls of dried beans, they shouted “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (Demons out! Luck in!) in the traditional ceremony to bring luck in the coming year. Among the many stars taking part was enka singer Kitajima Saburo (69) and members of the “Saburo Family”, who were at the Yakuoin temple on Mt. Takao, in the west of Tokyo. Setsubun is not a national holiday and is held on February 3 or 4, one day before the start of spring according to the Japanese lunar calendar.

• Johnny’s Jimusho group News may be disbanded following a second scandal. Last week a 17-year old member of the boy band was suspended for underage drinking, a repeat of a similar case last summer. The group’s planned 12-date concert tour will go ahead in March and April, while their new single, the theme tune for the latest movie version of the hugely popular anime “One Piece”, will be re-recorded by the remaining six members. They are then expected to continue working solo at least through to the end of this year, when the fuss is likely to have died down. Two previously recorded TV shows that feature the suspended group member have been either edited or cancelled altogether. Asked about future plans for the group, a Johnny’s spokesman said they were still looking into the facts of the matter and the situation was still under review, leading the media to speculate that the group’s days may be numbered.

• It was revealed yesterday that NHK announcer Sumiyoshi Miki (32) has been divorced since the spring of last year. The presenter of “Professional – Shigoto no Ryugi” married a fellow NHK employee in 2003, but the marriage lasted only until April of 2005.

• Okamura Takashi (35) of the comedy duo Ninety Nine has said he’s given up hope of romance with pin-up girl Kumada Yoko (23). The weekly magazine Friday recently published photos of Kumada leaving his apartment and he hinted that there was a relationship. But on his regular radio show, Okamura said that while Kumada had been to his place for dinner, things had not turned romanrtic between them.

About 500 reporters turned out yesterday to hear about a movie that has barely started filming. Director Yamada Yoji‘s latest venture into the world of samurai drama stars SMAP heart-throb Kimura Takuya (33). And at yesterday’s pre-production announcement, they made it clear that they’re aiming to make a movie that is Oscar material. “Bushi no Ichibun” is Kimutaku’s first venture into period drama, but Yamada is already comparing him with that most stoic of actors, Takakura Ken. He has grown a bit of a beard for his role as a low-level samurai, blinded by his job as a poison tester, who seeks revenge against the man who steals his wife. The movie, not due for general release until next year, has had an offer from the Berlin Film Festival, where Yamada’s “Tasogare Seibei” (Twilight Samurai) was nominated for the Golden Bear award in 2003.

• The debut solo album by Bernard Fowler (47), backup singer for the Rolling Stones, will be released first in Japan on March 8. The Stones will be playing in Japan later in the month. Fowler has a long history of connections with Japan – his wife is Japanese and he worked on a Sakamoto Ryuichi solo album as far back as 1986. He’s been working with the Stones since 1989. The only band member appearing on his album is guitarist Ronnie Wood.

• The daughter of Academy Award nominated actor Watanabe Ken (46) has been named as a tourism ambassador for the Philippines. The tall and slender Anne (19) appeared at a PR event at the Ebisu Westin hotel in Tokyo yesterday. After greeting the gathered reporters in fluent English, she told them of her location work on the islands of Cebu and Bohol. She refused to comment when asked about her father’s recent re-marriage to actress Minami Kaho (41). A fashion model who has worked on the international circuit, she now lives with her mother.

A 17-year old member of popular Johnny’s band News has been suspended after his underage drinking was revealed in a monthly magazine. The magazine published photos of the singer, named only as B, with a young woman at a karaoke box last autumn, in what appear to be stills from a concealed camera. The singer has denied that he drank alcohol and says he plans to atend the prestigious Tokyo university that he gained entry to recently. Another of the 8-member group was suspended last summer for exactly the same reason. His suspension is still in effect, but the Johnny’s stable is so big that if need be, he can simply be replaced by a member from a different Johnny’s group.

• Actor Funakoshi Eiichiro (45) is to have his first starring role in a movie in 17 years. Known as the “emperor of 2-hour TV dramas”, he will star in “Bochan Chips” which is due for release in the autumn. His love interest will be played by 21-year old misono, former vocalist of the band Day After Tomorrow and younger sister of club queen Koda Kumi (23), in her movie debut.

Miyazaki Hayao‘s animated feature “Hauru no Ugoku Shiro” (Howl’s Moving Castle) has been nominated for an Academy Award. Miyazaki (65) previously won an Oscar in 2003 for “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi” (Spirited Away). Howl is a love story that tells of a 90-year old woman who is transformed into an 18-year old girl. The movie took in almost ¥20 billion at the box office and has been an international success, seen by over 9 million people in some 50 countries worldwide. It won an award at the Venice International Film Festival in 2004.

• Also nominated in six categories, including nominations for costume design and music, is “Memoirs of a Geisha” (Sayuri), the Hollywood adaptation of Arthur Golden’s bestseller. Though set in Japan, the movie has an international cast that includes local stars Watanabe Ken, Yakusho Koji and Momoi Kaoru.

Actor Ishida Issei (31) and former talento wife Miyake Emi (27) filed for divorce on January 30, it was revealed yesterday. They have one child, a son born in December 2003, who will remain with his mother.

There’s been a wave of sports wedding announcements in the last couple of days. Yomiuri Giants star outfielder Takahashi Yoshinobu (30) and NTV announcer Onodera Mai (30) held a press conference at a Tokyo hotel yesterday to announce that they got married on January 29. They have known each other for six years and took the plunge before Takahashi starts spring training. Onodera talked happily about how her fiancee had proposed to her in December, but Takahashi was red-faced and flustered throughout.

• Toritani Takashi (24), an infielder for the Hanshin Tigers, appeared with his new bride Yuko (24) at a press conference at the team’s training camp in Okinawa yesterday. He revealed that they have been married since December 20. They have known each other since high school and started dating in college.

• Also recently married were NHK sports announcer Izumi Koji (34) and shogi player Iwane Shinobu (23). The two met when they appeared together on a shogi show on NHK’s educational channel. Iwane plays shogi, the Japanese version of chess, at the shoudan or first-grade level, and plans to continue playing under her maiden name.

Comedian Shimura Ken (55) is celebrating 20 years of his Baka Tono character with the release of a 3-DVD box set. He held a launch event in Tokyo’s Ginza district, along with his most recent sidekicks, comedians Dacho Kurabu. Shimura wryly remarked that the release came “a bit too late for some”, referring to Tashiro Masashi, his very first sidekick from the 1970s who was arrested for the fourth time in 2004 for drug possession. Shimura first got his own variety show in 1976 after he and the Drifters comedy group had become a national TV sensation. Baka Tono, which has been shown on TV networks in the US, is one of Japan’s most recognizable comic creations.

• The female stars who make up the Hello! Project turned out in force at the Yokohama Arena yesterday to finsih off their national tour. Morning Musume may be the most famous incarnation, but the show included a total of 67 singers who make up 15 different groups. The show also saw the first performance in over three years by Petit Morni, made up of former MM members Yasuda Kei (25), Goto Maki (20) and Yoshizawa Hitomi (20). All 67 young ladies were on stage for the grand finale, a lively rendition of MM’s mega-hit “Love Machine”.

• Also getting back together, though for the first time in 17 years, were the members of the Sadistic Mika Band. The four musicians, all in their 50s, teamed up with young vocalist Kimura Kaera (25) to record a live version of their 1973 hit “Taimu Mashiin ni Onegai” for a Kirin beer commercial to be aired in February.

Comedian Okamura Takashi (35, photo right) has promised to tell all about his reported romance with pin-up girl Kumada Yoko (23) next week. The romance between the two was revealed in the latest issue of the weekly magazine Friday. Okamura, one half of the comedy duo Ninety-Nine, was quizzed about it on their late night radio show yesterday. He said he had been caught completely by surprise by paparazzi who photograhed him and Kumada leaving his Tokyo apartment by car. He was most disappointed that in the heat of the moment, he hadn’t been able to produce a good quote for the reporters.

• The 1976 hit movie “Inugamike no Ichizoku” is to be remade, with the same lead actor and director. Ishizaka Koji (64) will again play Yokomizo Seishi’s famous detective creation Kindaichi Kosuke, and veteran director Ichikawa Kon (90) will be behind the camera once more.

• Singer Arashiro Beni (19) recently became the first Japanese artist to appear on a famous Chinese New Year song contest. The show on Guangxi TV is described as the Chinese equivalent of Japan’s Kohaku Uta Gassen. Arashiro sang “miracle” and “here Alone” as well as a song in Chinese. Her second album, “Girl 2 Lady,” is scheduled for release on February 22.

• SMAP member Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (31) has cancelled his regular appearances on several shows after coming down with a bout of influenza. He missed his regular Friday sot on “Waratte Ii Tomo”, the first time he’s failed to make the live afternoon variety show since he started on it in 1995. There haven’t been any reported cases of people catching the so-called “bird flu” in Japan, but the regular variety seems to be spreading at the moment.