Latest News from Japan Zone & Japan Store

In the ongoing saga between Livedoor and Fuji TV for control of Nippon Broadcasting System, the latest round goes to the Internet startup (see earlier story). The Tokyo High Court ruled yesterday that the attempt by NBS to issue new shares to Fuji was illegal. Livedoor president Horie Takafumi (photo, 32) gave yet another press conference and the news shows all had it as their top story. His company have recently brought their total shareholding in NBS to over 50%, meaning they will have the upper hand at the upcoming directors’ meeting. NBS is the biggest shareholder in Fuji TV, so control of the radio station brings with it major influence in one of the country’s biggest TV networks. Commentators, celebrities and the general public have been coming down on one side or other of the long-running financial battle. Singer Nakajima Miyuki (53), comedian and emcee Tamori (59) and baseball commentator Emoto Takenori (57) have said they won’t appear on Fuji if Livedoor gains a stake in the network. This would mean Tamori having to give up his record-holding afternoon show “Waratte Ii-tomo.” Meanwhile, perhaps reflecting the fact that he appears on shows with a lot of young celebs these days, veteran talento Mino Monta (60) criticized Fuji management as “nasakenai” (miserable, shameful).

I saw a news feature last night that showed a new way of shifting CDs. The popular rock band 175R (Inago Rider) released their 7th and latest single “Grafitti” yesterday as a pack with a Kit Kat chocolate bar. The news feature showed the chocolate/CD products, priced at ¥315, lined up on the top shelf of a Seven Eleven convenience store. They expect to sell about 500,000 copies. The band have just finished a 3-month nationwide tour. The new sales technique reflects a CD market that has seen continually declining sales for the last few years.

• The popular NTV drama “Gokusen” finished with a bang last Saturday. Audience figures released yesterday show the final episode reached a ratings high of 32.5% and the average for the series was 28%, the highest ever for a drama on the network. The series featured popular actress Nakama Yukie as a high school teacher and a host of “hot” up and coming male actors as her students. &$149; Comedian Nagai Hidekazu (35) became a father yesterday when his wife gave birth to a baby boy at a Tokyo hospital. Nagai made a big breakthrough on the TV variety circuit last year with his standup routines and the catchphrase “Machigainai!”

Japanese horror directors really are the hot ticket in Tinseltown! Tom Cruise (42) is producing a Hollywood remake of the Thai horror flick “The Eye” and has picked Japanese director Nakata Hideo (photo, 43) to take the helm. Nakata’s “The Ring 2”, a US remake of his 1999 hit, made No.1 in the US box office during its recent opening weekend, bringing in $36 million. This follows the US success last year of Shimizu Takashi’s remake of his own horror film, The Ju-on. Nakata is credited with starting the current horror boom in Japanese cinema, in particular with Ringu (The Ring) and its sequel, as well as “Honogurai Mizu no Soko Kara” (Dark Water, 2002). The latter is also being remade in the US, starring Jennifer Connelly.

• Popular singer Kuraki Mai (22) was one of 2,100 students who graduated from Ritsumeikan University yesterday. Dressed in a pale blue kimono, she said “It all passed so quickly. I had exams at the same time as concert tours, and I couldn’t join in club activities. But I made it, thanks to my friends.”

Today is the Shunbun no Hi (Vernal Equinox) national holiday

There were reports last month of a female talento who admitted in a late-night quiz show to having experience of stealing. She said that she and friends had stolen boxes of food and drinks from a store’s stockroom over a period of six months. The program, “Coming Doubt,” ran a subtitle saying “Stealing is a crime!” but the revelation caused a fuss beyond what the girl and the NTV network were expecting. She wasn’t named in the media as her age was given as 18, making her a legal minor. But a report on the opening of a new movie on Saturday mentioned that star Abiru Yuu (18), who has recently been enjoying growing popularity on the variety circuit for her outspokenness, was unable to attend the opening ceremony as she was on “temporary leave.” Co-stars were very serious and tight-lipped about the matter, leading this reporter to put two and two together. Sure enough, the young talento was indeed the guilty party. Her father is in the shady money-lending business and has in the past been arrested for tax evasion.

The next project in the works for talented actress Miyazawa Rie (31) is a movie with director Koreeda Hirokazu (42). Titled “Hana Yorimo Naho” it is a samurai drama that will reunite her with writer Fujisawa Shuuhei, who also wrote “Tasogare Seibei” (Twilight Samurai). It is the first “jidai-geki” for Koreeda, who is best known for last year’s Cannes hit “Dare mo Shiranai” (Nobody Knows). Miyazawa will play a widow living in an Edo tenement who becomes the love interest of a samurai.

• On-location filming for the new Kimura Takuya (32) TV drama “Engine” took place at the Malaysia Grand Prix yesterday. Kimutaku met members of the Toyota team, including Ralf Schumacher.

Lawyers for disgraced former talento Tashiro Masashi (48) have withdrawn their appeal of his prison sentence at the Tokyo District Court. He will serve the three-and-a-half year sentence handed down in February. Tashiro was arrested last year for drug possession, the latest in a series of crimes that included other drug offenses and secretly filming up a woman’s skirt. The former singer was one of the best known faces on the variety show circuit until his life started falling apart after his first arrest in 2000.

• Fuji TV announcer Otsubo Chinatsu (38) is to quit the network this month to get married. She and her future husband, an employee at a foreign firm, will move to Europe, where he will be working.

• “Girl next door” former idol singer Suzuki Sachiko (36) has released a nude photo book. The complete image change follows her love scene appearance in a recent TV Asahi drama. Suzuki was one half of the pop duo Wink, which formed in 1988 and released 25 albums over a stellar 8-year career. Both Suzuki and former partner Aida Shoko (34) have become TV regulars.

Popular pin-up girl Morishita Chisato (23) has found her first romance with Yasu, vocalist of the rock band Janne Da Arc. Morishita made her debut as a race queen while a freshman at university. She became popular as a “gravure idol” and was voted Race Queen of the Year in 2003, but has recently been appearing more on TV variety shows. Janne Da Arc started in 1996 as a “visual kei” band and made their major-label debut in 1999 with the album “Red Zone.” They have released a total of five albums and 23 singles.

• The first PR event for the eagerly awaited new TV drama series starring heart throb Kimura Takuya (32) was held this week. “Engine,” the story of a racing driver and kids in an institution for the handicapped, will air on the Fuji TV network in the “golden time” of 9pm on Mondays. The heroine role will be played by Koyuki (28).

• Winner of the prestigious “Hair Coloring Award 2005” is young talento Becky (21).

The Tokyo High Court has dismissed a civil suit appeal filed by the wife of actor Watanabe Ken (45). Watanabe filed for divorce from his wife Yumiko (45) in September of last year, which she refused to accept. The divorce was granted by the Tokyo District Court. Watanabe battled with leukemia during the 1990s and entrusted his financial dealings to his wife, who proceeded to run up huge debts. The marriage was said to be in trouble in 2002. Watanabe is currently working on his next movie in Los Angeles.

• The cast has been announced for the US version of hit anime film “Howl’s Moving Castle.” The movie will feature the stellar voice talents of Christian Bale (31), Jean Simmons (76), Lauren Bacall (80), Billy Crystal (58), and Blythe Danner (62). The film is scheduled to open in the US in mid-June. It is still showing in Japan and curently holds the all-time No.2 spot in box office receipts.

• Hoshi Ruisu, of the popular 1980’s manzai duo Sento Ruisu (Saint Louis), died on Wednesday. He was 57. His comedy partner, Hoshi Sento died just last year, at the age of 56, of lung cancer.

Pop group V6 have taken the top three slots in the weekly Oricon DVD charts. The group, part of the Johnny’s Jimusho boy band empire, are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year and released the three DVDs simultaneously. They entered the chart straight at No.1, 2, and 3, the first time this has happened. The three DVDs are themed “Live,” “Dance” and “Ballads.”

• Meanwhile, top-selling rock band B’z (photo) have yet again seen their latest release go straight to the top of the singles chart. “Ai no Bakudan” (Love Bomb) makes it 34 in a row, a record stretching back to 1990.

• R&B singer Kubota Toshinobu (42) has recorded the Japanese theme song for the Hollywood remake of ” Shall We Dance?” His first single in 16 months, “A Love Story” will go on sale on April 27. The US movie stars Jennifer Lopez (34), who was recently in town to promote the movie and her new album, and Richard Gere (55), due to visit on March 30. Kubota has been based in New York since 1995.

Some 145,000 people turned out to cheer popular traditional entertainer Hayashiya Kobuhei (42) during a 5-hour parade along the 7km route from Ueno to the downtown district of Asakusa in Tokyo. He will officially become the 9th Hayashiya Shouzou, the highest ‘rank’ in the rakugo ‘family,’ on the 21st of this month. The succession to such names in the traditional arts is a big deal. The Shouzou name dates back to the Edo Period but has been ‘vacant’ for the last 24 years. &3149; Rock band Glay played what should have been the last gig of their 4-dome tour, during which they played to a total of 200,000 fans, at Tokyo Dome on Sunday. The 3-and-a-half-hour featured 26 tunes, covering all the hits of their 10-year career. Due to technical problems, their shows at Osaka Dome were cancelled and will be played at the International Exhibition Center in Osaka this weekend.