Latest News from Japan Zone & Japan Store

The initial line-up for this summer’s Fuji Rock Festival has been released. Organiser Smash Corp. announcd a playlist that includes Aqualung, The Beach Boys, Beck, The Black Velvets, Cake, The Coral, Dinosaur Jr., Eddi Reader, Fatboy Slim, Foo Fighters, The Go! Team, Juliette & the Licks, Los Lobos, The Magic Numbers, Mercury Rev, The Music, The Pogues, Sigur Ros, and Steel Pulse. Fuji Rock will take place July 29-31 at the Naeba ski resort in Yuzawa, Niigata prefecture. Creativeman Productions will announce the first artists for Summer Sonic Festival, which will take place in Osaka and Tokyo on August 13-14, on March 14.

Fuji Rock Festival 2005

Summer Sonic Festival 2005

Veteran entertainer Katsura Bunshi died yesterday of liver failure at a hospital in Mie Prefecture. He was 74. He was one of the leading performers of rakugo, the traditional form of comic storytelling. Rakugoka sit in seiza on stage and use minimal props to relate stories handed down over the generations. The fifth rakugoka to hold the name Bunshi, he won many awards and was decorated by the government with the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1997 and the Order of the Rising Sun in 2003.

Suginami Ward in western Tokyo is often called the center of the anime universe, and now it has its own museum to prove it. Suginami Anime Museum opened on March 5 in an unimposing municipal building in a non-descript residential suburb. But with dozens of Japan’s most famous anime companies (including Studio Ghibli, Sunrise, Toei Animation to name just a few) within just a few miles radius, Suginami really is “anime central.” During the first month, the museum is holding a “Gundam World” event, with exhibits and screenings of the classic TV series.

• Speaking of popular anime, the voice of Wakame-chan in the long-running TV series Sazae-san is to change for the first time in 29 years. Nomura Michiko (65), who is the second voice actor to do the part, will be replaced by Tsumura Makoto (35) from April. Tsumura narrated the voice of Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy) in last year’s revival TV series.

Talented actor Fujiwara Tatsuya (23) gave a press conference on Wednesday at the Lincoln Center in New York for this summer’s stage production of Ninagawa Yukio’s “Kindai Nohgakushu” (Modern Noh Plays). The production, based on a work by the late Mishima Yukio, will be part of the Lincoln Center Festival 2005, and will be held at the Rose Theater on July 28-30. Fujiwara, perhaps best known abroad for his starring role in the two Battle Royale movies, spoke to the press in shaky English, adding with a smile “I practiced all night…but I don’t know if it worked.” Ninagawa is Japan’s most famous theater director, who has also worked extensively on the world stage, including many original Shakespeare productions.

• The Artist of the Year award at the 19th Nihon Gold Disc Awards went to Orange Range. The awards are based on annual CD sales, and the 6-man group took the top prize after a year where they sold over 4.5 million singles and albums. Their album “Musiq,” which went on sale in December, sold almost 2.4 million copies and they had four No.1 singles. The award for top foreign band went to the defunct Queen, whose greatest hits album “Jewels” sold almost 1.8 million copies. Guitarist Brian May accepted the award in a video message.

Actor, comedian and director Kitano “Beat” Takeshi (photo, 58) became a grand-father yesterday when his daughter Shouko (22) gave birth to a baby girl. Somewhat embarrassed by his new elderly status, Takeshi says he wants the child to call him “Beat-kun” rather than “ojii-san” (Grandad), adding that he now really is an “ero-jijii” (dirty old man).

• Another comedian celebrating a birth is Nanbara Kiyotaka (40) of the duo U-chan Nan-chan. His wife Shizuko (34) gave birth to their first child, a baby boy, at a Tokyo hospital yesterday. The couple, who have been married for 12 years, have named their son Yuusei.

• Former NHK TV producer Isono Katsumi (48) admitted in court yesterday that he had embezzled ¥160 million from his former employer. He said his criminal activity started in the early 1990s when an affair with a fellow NHK employee became expensive. He conspired with a former university classmate, who was president of an entertainment company, and others to pay for fictional TV programs. He used the money to take overseas trips and buy luxury goods and gifts for his girlfriend.

The media were even more keen than usual to cover the final qualifying for the 2005 Miss Universe Japan beauty pageant. The reason was the participation of Nishimura Miho (23), girlfriend of Livedoor president Horie Takafumi (32), whose battle with Fuji TV for control of radio broadcaster NBS has been all over the media for the last few months. But due to the increased attention, pageant organizers restricted media access. And the end result? Former Kirin Beer poster girl Nishimura failed to qualify.

• March 8 was designated “Samba no Hi” at Tokyo Dome as actor Matsudaira Ken (51) continued to milk the popularity of his “Matsuken Samba” boom. The actor best known for his TV drama role as the Abarenbo Shogun has undergone a huge transformation since his divorce from actress Daichi Mao at the end of 2003. Dressed in a sparkling lame gold kimono and samurai makeup, he’s now strutting his stuff on his first ever national concert tour. His “gyara” or appearance fee, has reportedly increased from ¥5 million to ¥8 million a pop.

Actress Kawashima Naomi (photo, 44) has admitted that she is currently romantically involved with a Frenchman. The game was given away at the launch of the new women’s magazine Glamorous, held at a French restaurant. The always glamorous Kawashima has been with many younger men, the latest being Florent Dabadie (30), assistant to the former Japan national soccer team manager Phillipe Troussier.

• The NTV drama series “Gokusen” is enjoying huge success. Starring popular actress Nakama Yukie (25) as an ass-kicking high school teacher, the series scored an audience rating of over 32% for the 8th episode last Saturday night. It’s the first drama series to break the 30% figure on the network since “Ie Naki-ko 2” in 1995.

• A memorial is to be erected at the site of last year’s huge concert held by rocker Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi (48) on his home turf in the shadow of Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima. Over 75,000 people turned out for the all-night event. The memorial will be officially opened on the first anniversary on August 21.

Young actress Ueto Aya (19) is to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the newly named Softbank Hawks baseball team in the upcoming season. The team is based at Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome, while Softbank — bought the team from the financially troubled Daiei in the off-season — is a major investor in Yahoo! Japan. Ueto was chosen as she appears in the TV commercials for the Yahoo! BB broadband service. And who will be facing that first pitch? None other than Nippon Ham Fighters leadoff man Shinjo Tsuyoshi (33), the former Major Leaguer who is as much celebrity as baseball player.

• The latest western celebrity to hit town is Jennifer Lopez (34), in Tokyo to promote her 4th album, “Rebirth” and the Hollywood remake of the Japanese smash hit movie, “Shall We Dance?” It’s her second visit to Japan – she was here to promote her movie “The Cell” in 2001.

• Also in Japan for the second time is Canadian skate-punk rocker Avril Lavigne (20), who played the fourth date of a 14-concert tour at the Yokohama Arena on Sunday.

Popular singer and actress Matsuura Aya (photo, 18) is in the middle of her first romance, according to the latest issue of gossip magazine Friday. Ayaya has been linked with fellow idol singer Tachibana Keita (19) of the dance trio W-inds. She was spotted getting out of a taxi and entering Tachibana’s apartment with a shopping load of household items. Her agency acknowledged a friendship between the young idols, but refused to comment any further.

• Actress Ryou (32) is pregnant and expecting her first child in June. She and Brahman vocalist Toshi-Low (31) married in April 2003. The announcement is conveniently timed – she stars in the movie “Katarina,” scheduled to open on March 12.

Singer Go Hiromi (49) has announced his comeback after a break of three and a half years. He arrived by helicopter for a live performance for 500 fan club members at the Gold Coast Turf Club in Australia on Friday. He will release a new single “Ai Yori Touku” on April 20, and embark on his first nationwide tour in four years in October. Go has one of the most impressive line up of hits in Japanese pop, but his last big single was “Goldfinger ’99,” a Japanese version of Ricky Martin’s “La Vida Loca.” He married for the second time at the end of 2000.

• Young actor Yamada Takayuki (21) is to play the lead in a movie adaptation of last year’s surprise best-selling book, “Densha Otoku” (Train Man). The book grew out of a true love story that was played out on 2 Channel, Japan’s most popular Internet bulletin board. It was published last October and sold over half a million copies. Yamada will play the part of the 22-year old man who turned to the Web for advice on the pursuit of his first girlfriend.

This week female pop-punk trio Shonen Knife kicked off a spring tour in the US behind reissues of their first four albums. Formed in Osaka in 1981, they have had a following in the US since as far back as the early 1990s. The late Curt Cobain of Nirvana was a big fan. The trio even played with Nirvana on a UK tour prior to their big breakthrough with debut album Nevermind. For more info on the band and their tour dates, see this Rolling Stone article.