Latest News from Japan Zone & Japan Store

A Tokyo court ordered acid-tongued Dewi Sukarno (63) to pay ¥2.2 million to an unnamed stage actress in a defamation case. During a routine press conference in 2001, she named the actress as the mistress of playboy actor Kawasaki Mayo. The judge said that the claim had been based only on what she heard from Kawasaki’s American wife Kaiya. “Dewi Fujin”, widow of the late Indonesian leader, has made a lot of enemies with her outspoken opinions on TV over the last few years.

Fuji TV announcer Masai Maya (26) has broken off her engagement to Fuji producer Hiraga Kimiyasu (39), and is now seeing fellow announcer Nishioka Takahiro (27). Meanwhile also at Fuji, newlyweds actress Esumi Makiko (36) and director Hirano Makoto (37) are both starting on new drama series in April. Esumi will star in “Marusa!!” while hubby is in charge of the prime time Monday 9pm slot.

This week actress Fujiwara Norika (31) received an official “Thank You” from the government for her role as a good will ambassador between Japan and South Korea in 2002. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi Atsuko presented the document to Fujiwara, who together with Korean actress Kim Yunjin appeared at various events during the year of cultural exchanges. The biggest event was, of course, the World Cup.

Former idol singer Sakai Noriko (32) has launched her own fashion brand. It is targeted at the so-called “young missus” market. “Noripi” has been popular in much of Asia since her heyday in the late 80s/early 90s. The brand name “PP Rikorino” is a mishmash of her name, nickname, ‘p’ for ‘produce’ and ‘pino’, meaning ‘cute’ in Italian. It is backed by Itochu, one of Japan’s biggest trading companies.

To mark the 25th anniversary of its founding, Epic Records held a concert featuring some of its biggest stars from the 1980s. These included Komuro Tetsuya (left, 44), representing the band TM Network, Watanabe Misato (36) and Sano Motoharu (46). The concert, attended by 10,000 fans, also featured the first performance by the Barbee Boys since they broke up in 1992. In their heyday, they were one of the biggest J-Rock bands and were the first Japanese act to play the Tokyo Dome.

Idol star Fujimoto Miki (17) started her first solo tour at Akasaka Blitz in Tokyo yesterday. “Miki-Ti” as she is known to fans went through 17 songs and nine costume changes. Her debut album “2003 Spring Miki (1)” will go on sale on February 26th. The first single is “Boogie Train ’03”. She will officially become a member of Morning Musume in May.

It was revealed this week that popular young kabuki star Ichikawa Shinnosuke (25) is the father of an illegitimate child. He is curently starring in the NHK ‘taiga’ period drama “Musashi.” The mother was identified simply as 29-year old “A”, a former singer, and their child is a one-year old girl. The couple are believed to have been seeing each other for the last six years. The scandal is similar to one involving Ichikawa Somegoro (30) back in 1997. Meanwhile, Shinnosuke’s Musashi co-star Yonekura Ryoko has denied rumours of a relationship between the two despite photographs that show otherwise.

In a Brisbane courtroom, a verdict was reached for one of the two Japanese on trial for swindling popular rock singer Yazawa Eikichi (53) out of ¥3.5 billion. The man, a 66-year old real estate agent from Saitama and formerly an employee of Yazawa’s production company, was sentenced to 4 years. The scam involving a plan to build a skyscraper, including a recording studio, on Australia’s Gold Coast. Yazawa’s company filed a complaint back in 1998.

TV actress Yada Akiko (photo, 24) has broken up with Chunichi Dragons and former Giants pitcher Hiramatsu Kazuhiro (28). The pair admitted their relationship after they were spotted at Hiramatsu’s home by gossip magazine “Friday.” The breakup was revealed when Yada said she had no one to give Valentine’s Day chocolates to this year. Also announced was the separation of singer Okamura Takako (40) and husband Ishii Hiro (38) of the Yokohama Bay Stars.

TV commercial queen Kikukawa Rei (24) is to get her first starring role in the TV Asahi (Ch.10) drama series “O.L. Zenimichi”. She plays an office worker obsessed with money and saving. The series starts on April 11th. Kikukawa is currently appearing in a phenomenal 22 different CM’s.