Latest News from Japan Zone & Japan Store

Well, it’s hardly a surprise. Brazilian singer Marcia (35) and actor Otsuru Gitan (36) have divorced. Marcia submitted the divorce papers to a central Tokyo municipal office yesterday. According to both parties’ lawyers, there will be no alimony payments and custody of their six-year old daughter will go to the mother, while her father will make child-maintenance payments until she graduates from university. The high-profile showbiz couple married in 1995. Things came to a head in October of last year when, after walking out following an argument, Marcia returned to the family home only to find her husband with a young woman. Otsuru moved out in December, before the story became public, and spent several months working on location in South America. On his return in April, the affair got a lot of media attention and he made a very public and tearful apology.

Actress Makise Riho (32) is in love, according to the weekly gossip magazine Friday. And the lucky man is Nigo (33), founder of the hugely popular youth fashion brand “A Bathing Ape.” The pair met in May and started going out soon afterwards. Makise’s agency has acknowledged the relationship and rumors are that they may be already headed for marriage. In the past, Makise has been romantically linked with former pop idol Higashiyama Noriyuki, kabuki star Nakamura Kankuro and, most recently, ballet star Kumakawa Tetsuya, with whom she broke up in 2000. Nigo opened his first store, featuring his familiar ape logo, in the Tokyo youth mecca of Harajuku in 1993. He built up the brand by selling only limited numbers and through the patronage of celebrities such as SMAP‘s Kimura Takuya. He has since expanded into beauty salons, cafes and music and his success can be gauged from the fact that hepaid almost ¥200 million in taxes last year.

• Seattle Mariners star Suzuki Ichiro took a huge step towards one of the oldest records in Major League Baseball over the last couple of days, with 9 hits in two games. This has moved him with 10 hits of the all-time season record set in 1920. He has 10 games left.

Entertainer Tashiro Masashi (42) has been arrested for the fourth time. While driving with an unidentified woman, he was found to be in possession of marijuana and a butterfly knife. in the past he has been arrested for drug posession and indecent behaviour, and it is thought likely that he will serve prison time. Tashiro became a star inthe pop group Chanels, who wore black face paint, in the mid-1970s. In 1985 he started a solo career, appearing in comedy and variety shows and retaining his star status. His career went into a sudden slide in 2000 when he was arrested for secretly videotaping up a woman’s skirt at a train station. In June of this year he caused a traffic accident, injuring a young motorcyclist.

Singer Imai Miki (41) and rock guitarist Hotei Tomoyasu (42) are to play their first ever combined national tour as husband and wife. The “Imai Miki Dream Tour 2004” will be her first in four years. The news seems to put an end to rumors of a split following Hotei’s highly publicized affair in June. They have been married since June 1999 and have one daughter.

• Rising comedy star “Guitar Samurai” is to make his CD debut. Before the end of the year, he’ll also release a book and DVD. Real name Hata Youku (29), his distinctive delivery style and cutting comments on other showbiz types have made him very popular with high school girls and “OL’s” though so far he has only appeared on one TV show.

• Recently “retired” newsreader Kume Hiroshi (60) made a full-day “comeback” on Monday. He appeared on a total of 6 live radio programs between 6am and 5pm on the Nippon Housou channel. In march, former comedian Kume gave up the chair on the popular TV Asahi “News Station” show after 18 years.

The live action version of the hugely popular 70s anime “Devilman” is set to take the world by storm. There has been advance interest in the movie from about 40 countries, a number expected to reach about 50 and far more than the previous record for a Toei movie of 30, set by “Battle Royale 2”. The extremely violent manga version by Nagai Go, which has sold over 8 million copies, originally appeared in 1972 in “Shukan Shonen Magajin” and the anime first aired on TV Asahi in July of that year. The story tells of a world where demons wreak havoc and only through being possessed by the demon Amon, Lord of War, can the hero take them on. The dark hero role of Fudo Akira/Devilman is played by Izaki Hisato (20) while his twin brother Ryusuke plays his friend Asuka Ryo, who later becomes his arch-enemy. Both are members of the pop group Flame. Also appearing are supermodel Tominaga Ai (22) as the female demon Siren and Sakai Ayana 819) as the heroine. The movie, which cost ¥1 billion and was directed by Nasu Hiroyuki (52), is set for domestic release on October 9.

Today is the Keiro no Hi (Respect for the Aged Day) national holiday

The funeral service for former Checkers drummer Tokunaga Yoshiya turned out to be perhaps the last time members of the 80s pop group will appear together. The four remaining founder members, including current star Fujii Fumiya (42), had seats at the front of the service, while vocalists Takamoku Yoshihiko (photo, 42) and Tsuruku Masaharu (40) had to sit a couple of rows back. Fujii blamed the split on Takamoku’s book “Checkers”, published last year, which he claimed was “detarame” (nonsense). The author appeared with Tsuruku on live TV yesterday to challenge the accusation, but also added that he thought Checkers would never get back together again. Tsuruku broke down in tears holding a badge all members had worn on their debut. Tokunaga died August 17 of cancer at the age of 40.

Glamor queen Kano Mika (35) was an ideal choice to garner publicity for a new Picasso exhibition titled “Picasso, Body and Eros.” One half of the high-living and always scantily clad Kano sisters, Mika appeared at the opening event clad in a low-cut tube dress. The exhibition is being held at the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art until December 12.

• The ongoing saga of Japanese pro yakyu (baseball) continues, with the players deciding to stage their first ever strike today and tomorrow. The strike is in protest over plans to merge two teams in the less popular Pacific League, the Kintestsu Buffaloes and the Orix Blue Wave. Japan Professional Baseball Players Association (JPBPA) members and officials of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) organization held talks at a Tokyo hotel Friday but failed to reach an agreement. TV and radio stations have been scrambling to find programs to replace live game broadcasts.

Pop/soul singer Misia (26) has been given the job of singing the theme song for the big autumn movie, “Umineko” (Sea Cat). The ballad “Fuyu no Etrange” marks the movie track debut for writer Takuro (33) of the rock group Glay. The movie is set in 1980s Hakodate in Hokkaido, where Glay hail from. The promo video featuring the song focuses on love scenes with stars Itoh Misaki (photo, 27), one of the most visible faces on TV commercials over the last year, and Nakamura Toru (39). The man at the helm for the movie is Morita Yoshimitsu, whose last project was 1997’s hit “Shitsurakuen” (Paradise Lost), a middle-aged romance that included graphic love scenes and made a star of Kuroki Hitomi. Umizaru is scheduled for release on November 13.

Utada Hikaru (21) is to appear in the commercials for Nintendo’s new game console Nintendo DS. The commercial, which will air from Saturday, features her new single Easy Breezy and shows Utada in a white space and wearing a red dress, as she fearfully approaches the new machine.

• Oda Yuji (36) and Yada Akiko (25) have arrived in New Zealand to shoot the new Fuji TV romantic comedy series “Last Christmas.” Given the seasonal setting, filming is being done in the southern hemisphere. The series will start on October 11 and marks Oda’s long-awaited return to the “golden time” slot. He became a huge star after the success of “Tokyo Love Story” in 1991.

Barcelona Olympic silver-medal gymnast Iketani Yukio (33) has divorced again. His second marriage – his wife Kumiko is 12 years older – is said to have come to an end in mid August. The couple ran a sports club that made ful use of the former athlete’s name value, and it’s unclear how that business will be affected. Iketani retired from sports after his Olympic success and finished his studies at university. The following year he became an all-round TV personality and developed something of a reputation as a ladies’ man. In 1997 he married a former member of the GiriGiri Girls glamour quartet and they had a child. But in 1999 he was caught having an affair and his marriage was over. The cause of his latest breakup is not known but is suspected to be of a similar nature.