Latest News from Japan Zone & Japan Store

In a marketing coup, producers of the movie adaptation of Murakami Haruki’s “Noruwei no Mori” have obtained permission to use the Beatles song from which it takes its name as its closing theme. It is just the second Japanese production to have been granted the honor (the other was Shinoda Masahiro’s “Akuryoto” in 1981), and only the fourth in all. The decision is said to have come after extended negotiations with Apple Records and Sony Music. It is the first time for Murakami’s legendary 1987 novel to be filmed. It has sold over 10 million copies in Japan alone and has been translated into 36 languages.

The story follows businessman Watanabe Toru’s nostalgic recollections of the late 60s, memories revived when he hears the Beatles’ song “Norwegian Wood” while on a flight to Germany. It stars the highly regarded young actors Matsuyama Kenichi (24) and Oscar nominee Kikuchi Rinko (28). Jonny Greenwood of the British rock band Radiohead, who won a Grammy for his soundtrack to the Oscar-winning “There Will Be Blood,” has written the music. With Vietnamese-born French director Tran Anh Hung at the helm, filming took place early last year and the movie is due to be released in Japan on December 11.

Murakami is famously protective of his work and has previously only allowed one to be put on celluloid, a 2004 movie version of the short story “Tony Takitani.”
Related stories:
Matsuken, Rinko Land Choice Roles (May 15, 2009)

Producer Oshima Eiko Dies at 73
Movie producer Oshima Eiko, sister of influential director Oshima Nagisa (78, profile), died of lung cancer at a Tokyo hospital on July 8, it was reported today. She was 73. Eiko was a producer of several of her brother’s movies, including “Natsu no Imoto” (Dear Summer Sister, 1972) and “Gohatto” (Taboo, 1999). She also worked with him as an actress, appearing in “Shiiku” (The Catch, 1961).

Tamaru Misuzu to Step Down at TBS
Newsreader Tamaru Misuzu (58, photo right) is to step down as presenter of the TBS show “Joho Tokushu.” The network has decided to overhaul the show and reached an agreement with Tamaru, who has been caring for her sick mother for several years. She has been the face of the show for 16 years, but from the end of September she will be replaced by TBS America general bureau director Kanehira Shigenori (56).

Voice actor Imamura Norio (56) has been arrested for posting lewd photos of himself on his blog. Best known as the voice of transvestite “queen” Emporio Ivankov on the popular anime series “One Piece,” Imamura posted photos of his full-body tattoos on his blog in early April. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police report, a complaint was filed by someone described as a male company employee (37) from Tokyo, and Imamura was arrested yesterday. Police also said that Imamura has spent several million yen over the last ten years getting his entire body covered in tattoos, and that he runs a bar in the Shinjuku 2-chome gay district of Tokyo, where tattooed bar staff wear only fundoshi (loin cloth).

Like many of the cartoon creations that populate the anime world of “One Piece,” the Emporio character is over the top, and no doubt influenced by the Dr. Frank-N-Furter character from the 1975 cult movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Tsuka Kohei, one of Japan’s most important modern playwrights, died on Saturday of lung cancer at a Chiba Prefecture hospital. He was 62. As reported on Japan Zone, Tsuka entered hospital to undergo treatment in January. But from his hospital bed he used videotapes and the telephone to direct a production of one of his most famous plays, “Hiryuden 2010 – Last Princess,” with up-and-coming actress Kuroki Meisa in the lead role. Tsuka had a reputation for turning popular female aidoru stars, such as Uchida Yuki (34, photo right, in a scene from Shin-Hiryuden in 2001), Ishihara Satomi (23) and Hirosue Ryoko (29), into real actresses.

Among Tsuka’s other well-known works are “Atami Satsujin Jiken,” which won top award in 1973, and “Kamata Koshinkyoku” in 1980. Tsuka became a household name when a Fukasaku Kinji-directed movie adaptation of “Kamata…” was a massive hit in 1982. A new stage version is currently scheduled to open on August 12.

An ethnic Korean whose given name was Kim Bon Un, Tsuka was born in Fukuoka Prefecture. He became involved in the theater while a student at Keio University. In 1980 he married actress Kumagai Mami (50) after she had appeared in his production, “Salome,” but the marriage ended in 1982. The following year he married Ikoma Naoko (48), a former member of his theatrical troupe. Tsuka used all kana characters for his pen-name, an idea he said was inspired by manga-ka Chiba Tetsuya. A famously heavy smoker, his medical condition forced him to quit the habit.
Related story:
Tsuka Kohei Battles Cancer (Jan. 26, 2010)

X Japan leader Yoshiki (photo left) and vocalist Toshi held a press conference and mini concert in Tokyo yesterday. The occasion was the announcement of the band’s first ever concert tour of North America, which will follow the previously announced appearance at the Lollapalooza Festival (August 8) in Chicago and two shows at Yokohama Stadium (August 14-15). Yoshiki will no doubt be hoping that it’ll be third time lucky. The band held a press conference in New York in 1992 to announce plans for their U.S. debut, but those plans fell through and the band split in 1997. After their reunion two years ago, they announced shows at Madison Square Garden, but again those plans were shelved when Yoshiki suffered from a herniated disc.

The Yokohama shows will be the first outdoor solo concerts by the band and they will play to 150,000 fans over the two days. The show will then head across the Pacific for a tour that will take in ten cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, New York and Boston. The shows will be held at 2,000-6,000-seat venues. “It’s going to be an intense show!” said Yoshiki. Toshi added, “It’s a new start for us in many ways. We’re going to give it everything and leave no regrets.”

And fans have something perhaps even bigger to look forward to – the first original X Japan album in 14 years. Yoshiki said, “It’s more than 90% complete. We expect to deliver the goods next week.” The album includes the new song “Jade,” which will be the first single for U.S. release, and English versions of “tears,” “Rusty Nail” and “Kurenai.”

Romance for Kitano Kii, Sano Kazuma
Actress and singer Kitano Kii (19, photo right) has a new love in her life, according to today’s issue of weekly magazine “Friday.” She was photographed smooching with ikemen (handsome) actor Sano Kazuma (21) earler this month, and they spent the night together at a Tokyo hotel. Management for Kitano said only that the two are “good friends.”

Kitano was previously linked with actor Hayashi Kento (19), with whom she appeared in the movie “Love Fight” earlier this year. She made her breakthrough in 2007 with starring roles in the movie “Kofukuna Shokutaku” and the Fuji TV drama series “Life.” She is also known as the commercial face of KitKat. Sano made a name for himself in last year’s Fuji drama series “Otomen” and has a regular role in the upcoming series “Hammer Session” on TBS.

Movie director Suo Masayuki (53) has teamed up with his wife, actress and former top ballerina Kusakari Tamiyo (45, photo left), to make a dance film about Charlie Chaplin. It will be the first big screen collaboration between the two since “Shall We Dance?” the hit 1995 film that first brought them together. Adapted from a ballet created by French choreographer Roland Petit (86), “Dancing Chaplin” is expected to have a spring 2011 theatrical release. The film will be in two parts, one dealing with the production process, the other focusing on the ballet itself.

Kusakari, formally retired from ballet in April 2009 and her last public performance included an excerpt from the Chaplin ballet. She performed with Italian ballet dancer Luigi Bonino (60), who co-stars in the movie version. The dance sequences were filmed at a Tokyo studio in July of last year. Suo says that his wife’s experience and advice was invaluable to him in understanding the physical limits of dancers and how best to film them.

Inception Hijacks Japan
The team behind Hollywood movie “Inception” pulled off a very clever PR stunt across Japan yesterday. On Jul 7, at 7:07pm, a promo video was played on 136 big screens on street corners across the country and about 20,000 monitors in trains on major commuter routes. The streets of Tokyo alone saw the video played in 48 different locations. It also played on about 2,000 TV screens on display in Yamada Denki electrical stores across the country.

The movie is directed by Christopher Nolan (39) and stars Leonardo Dicaprio (35) and Watanabe Ken (50). Following an announcement of a “special message from Hollywood” the three appeared on screen and addressed the Japanese public. The 75-second video brought commuter crowds to a standstill, such as about 2,000 office workers in the SL Square in front of Shimbashi station in central Tokyo (photo right). Inception is scheduled for release here on July 23.

Saibara Rieko’s popular manga strip “Mainichi Kaasan” is to be adapted for the big screen, it was announced yesterday. Whoever did the casting pulled off a PR coup because the leading roles of a married couple will be played by actress Koizumi Kyoko (44, photo left) and actor Nagase Masatoshi (43), who divorced in 2004. The manga, which has run in the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper every Sunday since October 2002, is about the daily life of the Kamohara family, based on Saibara’s own family. She married journalist and photographer Kamoshida Yutaka in 1996, with whom she had two children before the marriage ended in divorce in 2003. They got back together in 2006, but Kamoshida died of cancer in 2007.

Saibara (45) said of Koizumi, popularly known by her nickname KyonKyon, “We are women of the same generation who have been through a lot. I think she’ll play me very well.” The manga has been published in book form as five volumes, which have sold over 1.5 million copies. It has been running as an anime on TV Tokyo since April 2009.

Airbender Premieres in Tokyo
The 3D Hollywood flick “The Last Airbender” had its Japan premiere in Tokyo yesterday. Director M. Night Shyamalan, British star Dev Patel (20) and other cast members were at the Urban Dock LaLaport Toyosu venue. They were joined for the event by local talento Yamamoto Mona (34) and soccer star Nagatomo Yuto (23), recently returned from the World Cup in South Africa. Patel was clearly excited to be on his first visit to Japan, shouting out to fans, “Tokyo! Saiko!” The movie, critically slammed but a hit at the U.S. box office, opens here on June 17.

The public have made clear their reaction to the latest sumo scandal that has already ended two careers and several reprimands and demotions. Ozeki (champion) Kotomitsuki (photo) and stablemaster Otake were banned from the sport for life on Sunday for their prominent roles in the scandal, which saw dozens of wrestlers gambling huge sums on baseball via yakuza middlemen. Japan Sumo Association Chairman Musashigawa has been suspended until the end of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, which runs from July 11-25 at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.

Of the more than 11,000 calls to NHK since the scandal broke in mid-June, 68% have demanded that the network cancel its scheduled live broadcast of the tournament, while only 11% have been in support of it. NHK chairman Fukuchi Shigeo said at his regular press conference that a decision would be made today, based on yesterday’s meeting of the JSA.

The two people banned by the JSA bring the total fired in the last couple of years to 11. Previous cases have involved the use of marijuana and the hazing death of a young wrestler. Popular but controversial Yokozuna (grand champion) Asashoryu was forced into early retirement earlier this year after he assaulted a man outside a Tokyo nightclub.

UPDATE: NHK announced this afternoon that it would not carry its live broadcast of the Nagoya tournament. This is the first such cancellation in the 57-year history of sumo broadcasts on NHK.

X Japan Duo Perform in Paris
In their first ever live performance in Europe, X Japan leader Yoshiki and vocalist Toshi were special guests on Sunday at the “Japan Expo” in Paris. The duo gave the 8,000 fans what they wanted, performing four songs: “Forever Love,” “Endless Rain,” “Rose of Pain” and “I.V.” As the duo left the stage, the audience got to hear their new single “Born to be Free.”

Hanya in Taxi Dinger
Popular young comedy duo Hanya were involved in a minor traffic accident last night, according to the Sankei Sports newspaper. The pair were in a taxi that collided with another taxi in the central Tokyo district of Yotsuya. Only the passenger in the other car suffered slight injuries.

Actress Takaoka Saki (37, photo left) is expecting a baby in the autumn, according to the Sankei Sports newspaper. Sources say she has been dating a 43-year-old Nagoya property company owner since the end of last year. The couple are said to be already living together but plan to wait until after the baby is born to officially tie the knot. Takaoka was previously married to actor Hosaka Naoki (42), with whom she had two children before they divorced in 2004. She has since been romantically linked to several other actors.

Takaoka changed her management to the major Avex label at the beginning of 2008. She appeared in a Ninogawa Yukio-directed stage production at the end of that year, and last year put her English language skills to good use in the U.S.-Japanese movie “The Hariyama Bridge.”

A Homecoming for Beni
J-pop singer Beni (24, photo right) made her U.S. debut yesterday as she performed at the Anime Expo in Los Angeles. She was invited as an official guest of honor to the convention, held from July 1-4. On Saturday afternoon she performed for about 3,500 fans at the Nokia Theater and was the opening act for J-rock band, Sophia. Beni sang six songs, including her new single “Yurayura.” It was a homecoming of sorts for the singer, whose father is Japanese-American and who spent several years of her youth in southern California.

Popular manga-ka Sakamoto Mimei (44) has been sued for an alleged affair with a married doctor. The lawsuit was filed at the Tokyo District Court by the wife of the doctor who heads a clinic where Sakamoto had been undergoing treatment for collagen disease, and where she organized a charity event in May. The doctor’s wife is seeking ¥11 million in damages. Management for Sakamoto has denied that there was any affair, saying “There has been a series of misunderstandings and we hope to deal with this in good faith.”

Real name Anzai Akemi, Sakamoto made her artistic debut in 1989 and married the same year. A year later she was divorced but gradually built up a following through her manga strips in women’s comics. She later became the autor of erotic novels and has posed nude for a book in 2003. She is a regular commentator on the NTV morning show “Sukkiri!!”

SMAP Album, Tour and Sports Drink
News has come out of a concert tour to support the first album by super-aidoru group SMAP in two years. The double album “We are SMAP!” is due for release on July 21. It features collaborations with such artists as Daniel Powter, Rip Slyme and Love Psychedelico. The group have also collaborated with the Asahi Inryo beverage company to produce a new sports drink by the same name. The initial launch will see 10 millions bottles sold. A similar tie-up with Kirin Beverage in 2002 saw the sale of 8.4 million bottles of the “Drink! SMAP!” soft drink.

The “We are SMAP! Tour 2010” will kick off on July 31 with two nights at Sapporo Dome, followed by four nights each at the Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan, Nagoya, and Kyocera (Osaka) domes, and finishes with five nights at Tokyo Dome.

Nagoya Cinema Aims to Balance Dolphin Debate
A movie theater in Nagoya has decided to balance its upcoming screening of Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove” with a Japanese movie about the country’s whaling industry. Nagoya Cinema Take, one of the small number of theaters that have decided to screen the Hollywood feature about the dolphin slaughter in the town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, will also show “Kujiratori no Umi” (Whalers and the Sea, 1998). Though people will need to leave the theater between films and pay separately for each, cinema manger Hirano Yuji said, “There are viewpoints that can’t be seen from watching just one movie. We hope people will watch both.”

The Japanese movie, directed by Umekawa Toshiaki, features scenes shot on a Japanese research whaling ship, and former whalers from Taiji talking about the history and the state of affairs of their industry at the time. Nagoya Cinema Take, a small theater with a seating capacity of 40, is scheduled to show the movies from August 14.

FunMon Hits Album Best Seller So Far in 2010
It’s an indication of the current state of CD album sales that the biggest release of the year has only broken the half-million mark. “Funky Monkey Babys Best,” the greatest hits album by the hip hop trio, is the best-selling album of the last six months, according to Oricon. But the album, which was released in February, to date has sold about 548,000 copies.

Talento Ogura Yuko (26, photo left) has been sued for breach of contract, according to today’s issue of weekly magazine “Shuukan Shincho.” The court case was initiated by the owner of a yakiniku (Korean barbecue) company with whom Ogura was contracted to lend her name and image to a restaurant in the Kabukicho entertainment district of Tokyo. When the premises were vacated, it was understood that they would be completely renovated before reopening for business. But the restaurant opened without any renovation work being carried out. The company owner and the building landlord have sought ¥25 million in damages from Ogura. Reporting on the case, the Sankei Sports newspaper said they got no response from Ogura’s management agency.

NHK Unsure About Sumo Broadcast
Amid the ongoing scandal that has rocked the sumo world, NHK is still on the fence about whether they will broadcast the upcoming tournament live from Nagoya. The two-week event, one of six held annually, starts on June 11. NHK chairman Fukuchi Shigeo (76, photo right) said at his regular press conference yesterday that the network will make a decision after the Japan Sumo Association reports on its emergency board meeting on June 5. NHK has aired live coverage of every tournament since it began, with the only exception being in the case of natural disaster. The latest scandal to hit Japan’s national sport involves illegal gambling on baseball and association with yakuza underworld figures.