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The popular Fuji TV variety show “Toribia no Izumi” (Well of Trivia) is to make its way across the Pacific. The show, which is subtitled, “Wonderful Useless Knowledge,” presents little-known facts to a panel of celebrities including comedian Tamori. They indicate their approval by pushing a button that let’s out a “hehhh” sound, which indicates surprise in Japanese. The more “hehhh’s” it gets, the more prize money is sent to the person who sent in the trivia. A dubbed version of the Japanese show is to air on the U.S. cable channel Spike TV from November 11, with an original American version scheduled for next April. The English version will use the word “hey!” The Fuji TV show became a sleeper hit in a late-night slot in 2002 and was moved to the “golden time” of 9pm from July of last year. A Taiwanese version is also set to start next month.

Fans in the entertainment world heaped praise on the Seibu Lions baseball team, who won their first Japan Series in 12 years yesterday. “Leo” fans include legendary actress Yoshinaga Sayuri (59), who said she actually went to see them play at Seibu Dome 3 or 4 times during the season. Singer Matsuzaki Shigeru (54) watched the final game 7 in his car on the Chuo Expressway. He was delighted that the team won in its first year under manager Itoh Tsutomu (42), an 11-time Golden Glove player in the Lions golden days of the 80s and early 90s.

• It seems that actress Tanaka Hiroko (photo, 33) has been married for the last four years, the Sankei Sports newspaper revealed this week. She owned up when it was revealed that she is four months pregnant, which will obviously affect her future work schedule. She is quite popular, in an NHK afternoon schedule kind of way.

The 17th Tokyo International Film Festival kicked off at the weekend. In addition to the usual screenings in Shibuya, this year also sees the Roppongi Hills complex hosting many entries. Roppongi’s Keyakizaka Dori street was lined with a whopping 200m-long red carpet and 6,000 people turned out to welcome such local beauties as Matsu Takako (27), Matsuzaka Keiko (52), Hasegawa Kyoko (photo, 26) and Ueto Aya (19), all of whom were dressed to the nines. Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro gave the opening speech, and said he used to go to the cinema at least once a month before becoming leader, but now has no chance to. The festival opened with a screening of Yamada Yoji‘s latest samurai pic “Kakushi Ken, Oni to Tsume” (Hidden Sword, Demon’s Claw), starring Matsu and Nagase Masatoshi (38). The prize money has been increased to $100,000 this year, the highest among the 11 major international festivals. The panel of 6 judges is led by Yamada, and the winner of the main Grand Prix award will be announced on October 31.

Actor Hagiwara Kenichi (54) was arrested on Friday evening for professional negligence resulting in injury after he caused a traffic accident. The accident happened in Yokohama when Hagiwara, who was on his way home from work and hadn’t slept for over 24 hours, got out of his lane on a curve and hit a motorcyclist riding in the opposite direction. The 46-year old man suffered serious injuries, including a broken leg and possible spinal injury. Hagiwara had been wrking on the shoot of his directorial debut, the movie “Sankotsu” (Scattering of Ashes) in which he also stars. The actor, known by the nickname “Shoken” got his start as vocalist of the group The Tempters back in the 1960s. After the group broke up he became a star of TV and movies. The traffic accident is his second – he injured a motorcyclist while driving drunk in 1984.

Director/actor/comedian Kitano “Beat” Takeshi (57) gave a press conference at a Tokyo hotel on Thursday to announce that his daughter Shouko (22) recently married and is to have a baby next spring. The former singer and her new husband, a 25-year old chef at a Tokyo restaurant, registered their marriage on October 5. Takeshi gave a typically comical performance, questioning whether he really should have over the family fortune to “some cook.” But he also indulged in the sentmental, saying he hoped his grandchild would say “my grandpa was amazing in so many ways.” Shouko made her debut as an actress in her father’s film “Hanabi” in 1997 under the name Matsuda Shouko. The next year, she reached No.10 in the charts with a single produced by X Japan’s Yoshiki. Another single followed, but in 1999 she went to the U.S. to study and her career was put on hold.

“Talento” Niiyama Chiharu (23) is engaged to marry Kuroda Satoshi (29), an infielder for the Yomiuri Giants baseball team. The marriage registration and wedding ceremony are to be held during the baseball off-season. Sources made a point of saying that the couple have been going out for a year, and also that Niiyama is not pregnant and the pair are not living together, two things that seem to come before most celebrity marriages in Japan. Niiyama made her debut at the age of 15, when she won a talent scout audition for the HoriPro agency, beating out 43,000 other hopefuls. Kuroda started his career with the Seibu Lions, moving to the Giants in 2002. He has yet to become a regular starter.

• Tom Cruise, in town to promote his latest movie “Collateral,” became the first foreign celeb to make his mark outside Yurakucho’s Hibiya Chante cinema in downtown Tokyo. Cruise put his handprint in the Nemu no Hiroba, and to mark his special status, it was gold instead of the usual silver. It was the first new addition in almost 12 years, and was made in recognition of Cruise’s contribution to Japanese cinema through his work on “The Last Samurai.”

• Meanwhile, Godzilla is to get the same treatment in Hollywood. With the world premier of his last celluloid appearance, “Godzilla, Final Wars” to be held in the U.S. next month, his star is also to be inducted to the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.

Kajiwara Mayumi (37), formerly a member of the “sexy group” Shape Up Girls, held a wedding reception with her new husband, golf shop owner Kakuta Hiromichi (33), at a country club in Ibaraki prefecture on Tuesday. The couple married in Fiji on October 7 after going out for three years. Asked to compare their feelings on married life to golf, Tsunoda called it a “hole in one.” The best Kajiwara could manage was a “nice birdy.” They plan to register their marriage in Japan on November 22 – 11/22 is read in Japanese as “ii fufu” or “good husband and wife.”

Former Speed member Imai Eriko (21) has given birth to her first child, a baby boy, at a Tokyo hospital. She married Shogo (24), vocalist of the hip-hop group 175R, in June after a relationship of about a year. Next month will see the release of her first greatest hits album “Single Collection – Stairway.” Speed, the Okinawa pop group that got their start as backup singers for Amuro Namie (26), were one of the biggest names at the turn of the century. They broke up in 2000 and have played only charity events since.

• The silly award season is back. Among this year’s “Megane Best Dresser” award winners for people who look good in glasses were Cutie Honey actress Sato Eriko (22), retired news reader Kume Hiroshi (60) and popular golfer Miyazato Ai (19). And the “Best Leathernist” award went to actress Ishikawa Asami (27) for looking good in leather.

Never ones to avoid the limelight, the family of baseball legend Nomura Katsuya (69) got plenty of press coverage when they took their latest addition for her first shrine visit. Third son Katsunori (31), who has managed to hang in as a player due to his father’s support, and his wife brought their 5-month old daughter Sayako to the Hie Jinja shrine in central Tokyo for her traditional “o-miya mairi.” The elder Nomura is now manager of the Sidax company team, after a series of tax evasion scandals and court cases involving his acid-tongued wife Sachiyo (72) forced both to give up their main jobs – he as manager of the Hanshin Tigers, she as a TV celebrity. Their other sons are U.S.-based baseball agent Don Nomura and estranged son Kenny, from Sachiyo’s first marriage. Sachiyo was sued for libel by her daughter-in-law in 2001.

Actor Takahashi Katsunori (photo, 39) and half-German model Nakanishi Hanna (24) tied the knot at the weekend. The couple registered their marriage at the local municpal office and held their ceremony in the afternoon at Aoyama Gakuin University, the groom’s alma mater. Takahashi is best known for his role as “Salaryman Kintaro” a TV adaptation of the best-selling manga series. He was on record as saying he wanted to marry before he turned 40 – he made it with just two months to spare!

• Another 39-year old getting hitched at the weekend was actor Tsurumi Shingo (39). His bride Hitomi (29) is a former employee at a retirement home. The couple held their ceremony and reception at the swanky Hotel Okura in central Tokyo. They will probably register their marriage this week.