The popularity of five-man pop group SMAP shows no sign of abating. After recently kicking off their first national tour in two years, their new single and album releases both entered the Oricon charts at No.1, a first for the group (fellow Johnny’s Jimusho artists Kinki Kids did it for the second time in January, and Hamasaki Ayumi (26) has also pulled it off twice). The single, “Bang! Bang! Vacance!” is their 37th consecutive Top 10 entry, puting them in joint first place with The Alfee. The album, “Sample Bang!” is their first in two years and is a 3-CD set that includes a disc of solo releases and another of remixed hits in addition to the new material. The tour kicked off at the Sapporo Dome on July 30 and will continue across the country until Septemebr 29. By that time, they’ll have played 21 shows for over a million fans.
• And SMAP’s popularity has rubbed off on a previously unknown group. Moldovan pop unit O-Zone’s annoyingly infectious song “Doragostea Din Tei” has featured for several weeks in a segment of the “SMAPxSMAP” show on Fuji TV. Sung in Romanian, the Europop song has made No.5 in the Oricon singles chart and spawned its own “Japanese” soundalike lyrics (with the Japanese subtitle of “Koi no Myahii”) and an animation featuring a partying cat.
• Rock band Mr. Children will release “I Love You,” their first new album in a year, on September 21 and back it up with the first 5-dome tour. They will play domes in Osaka, Tokyo, Sapporo and Nagoya before finishing up at Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome on Christmas Eve. They are just the fourth band to play the five domes, following (of course) SMAP, B’z, and Southern All Stars. Vocalist Sakurai Kazutoshi (35) took an extended break from the group following a brain haemorrhage in the summer of 2002, and a planned tour was cancelled. But last summer, the band played their first national tour in three years. And Sakurai played 12 hours on stage over a recent 3-day festival event, so his health doesn’t seem to be a concern anymore.
Actor Wtanabe Hiroyuki (49) gave an “emergency” press conference in Yokohama yesterday to reveal that he had been one of the victims of a recent massive scam. He said he was one of over a thousand investors swindled by Gestion Privee Japon, asset investment consultants whose president has disappeared leaving the company bankrupt with debts believed to be in the order of ¥20 billion. The company was using investor’s money in currency trading but declared bankruptcy at the Tokyo District Court at the end of July. Watanabe met with the GPJ president in July of last year and decided to invest ¥120 million of his own money, plus an additional ¥8 million through his own company. Though the company said its investment scheme would yield 60% profits in just two months, Watanabe only got ¥9.4 million of his money back. In his ress conference, he said, “I was worried about the future as I’m in a career that has no guaranteed income. I was stupid to think this was security for my future.” He kept the investment secret from his wife, actress Hara Hideko (45), and only told her when news of the bankruptcy came out. The weekly magazine Flash this week revealed that Watanabe acted as emcee for an event held by GPJ in February, for which he received ¥8 million. He has flatly denied that he was a “poster boy” for the company. Watanabe first made his name in 1983 as one of the actors to appear in the famous “Faito! Ippatsu” series of macho TV commercials for Lipovitan D energy drink.
The 9th Fuji Rock Festival kicked off at the Naeba ski ground in Niigata Prefecture yesterday. Foo Fighters were officially top of the bill for opening day, but probably more fans turned out for the hugely popular British band Coldplay. Chris Martin and the band were making their second Fuji Rock appearance after they played in 2003. But Martin’s attempt at Japanese back-fired when he came on stage and greeted the audience with “Sayonara” (Goodbye) instead of “Konbanwa” (Good evening). Coldplay’s latest album “X&Y” has been No.1 in 31 countries and looks set to match the 10 million-plus sales of its two predecessors. Other big names on the opening day were The Music and The Pogues, and local bands such as The High-Lows and Crazy Ken Band. Photos and more are already up on the official site (
Popular South Korean actress Choi Ji Woo (30) finally arrived in Japan yesterday. She was scheduled to arrive for a series of PR events at the beginning of the month, but was rushed to a Seoul hospital the day before due to chronic fatigue. The actress – known to Japanese fans as “Choi Hime” (Princess Choi) was welcomed at Narita Airport by about 150 fans, far fewer than usually turn up for male stars. A spokesperson said she is not yet back to full strength, but she will meet fans and attend an event to mark the release of a new DVD and photo book tomorrow.
It looks like the brief marriage between actress Sugita Kaoru (40) and wealthy heir Ayukawa Junta (44) really is at an end. Sugita is said to have taken the case for arbitration at the domestic affairs court. Appearing on recent variety shows, she has strongly hinted that her days as a “celeb” wife are close to an end, just six months after she shocked the showbiz world with her surprise engagement. She says she has returned her wedding ring — by parcel delivery, no less — and hasn’t seen her husband since a highly publicized fight four months ago. Asked if she still loves him, she simply replied, “No, I don’t.”
It seems like popular Okinawan duo Kiroro have to do everything together. Vocalist Tamashiro Chiharu (photo right, 28) announced yesterday that she is 3 months pregnant. Both she and the other half of the duo, pianist Kinjou Ayano (27), got married in the spring, and Kinjou announced her pregnancy in May. They will start a tour as a “foursome” on August 13.
It was revealed yesterday that sumo star Chiyotaikai (29) and talento Kawamura Hikaru (photo, 25) have broken up. The media first reported on their romance in the summer of 2003, and marriage was thought to be on the cards. But it seems they split up about six months ago. Kawamura made the revelation during the recording of a variety show on Sunday. She recently joined the agency Suns, set up by former Yellow Cab founder Noda Yoshiharu (59), which specializes in busty female talento. Kawamura made her debut in Playboy magazine in 1996 (yes, she would have been about 16 at the time).
It turns out that rumors about a split between actress Okina Megumi (photo, 25) and her husband were true. The actress married 32-year Fujita Susumu, president of IT company Cyber Agent, only in February of last year, and up until last month she was insisting that everything was fine between them. But her agency announced the news of their divorce today. In the statement she said that they had discussed and mutually agreed on the split. Last year’s romance was seen as part of a boom in eligible showbusiness women going for high-profile and wealthy IT types.
Actor turned singer Matsudaira Ken (51) is to release the follow up to last year’s smash hit “Matsuken Samba II” on September 14. For “Matsuken Samba III” he will augment his gold lame kimono with some fiery red. This time around Matsudaira has written his own lyrics. The actor best known for years as the “Abarenbo Shogun” samurai in the TV series of that name is hoping to cash in on another boom this year.