Latest News from Japan Zone & Japan Store

Sugai Kin has been a movie and TV actress for more than half a century and has worked with some of the greats, including Kurosawa Akira(1910-1998) and Naruse Mikio (1905-69). But only this year, at the age of 82, has she finally landed a starring role, and with it a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. She stars in the movie “Boku no Obaachan” (My Grandmother), which is due for release in December. Sugai attended a post-production event for the movie in Tokyo yesterday and was presented with a certificate by a Guinness representative. Sugai first appeared on stage in 1947 and made her movie debut in 1951. In the 1950s and 60s, she had supporting roles in several of Kurosawa’s best-known movies, including “Ikiru” (1952), “Warui Yatsu Hodo Yoku Nemuru” (1960) and “Akahige” (1965). She also had a regular role in the long-running “Hissatsu Shiokinin” series, playing the mother-in-law of assassin Nakamura Mondo (played by Fujita Makoto).

• Talento Nishikawa Kanako (34) is on the verge of divorce, according to the Sports Hochi website. The daughter of veteran comedian Nishikawa Kiyoshi (62), she and pastry chef Hayashi Shigekazu (54) have been married since April 2005 and had a daughter just last year.

• On the latest leg of his 4-country Asian PR tour, X Japan leader Yoshiki revealed that the group will have a sixth member for the upcoming “world tour.” As he flew by private jet from Taiwan to Hong Kong, he told reporters that he met the musician in Los Angeles in August. He declined to give a name, saying he has yet to speak with the other band members, but said the musician would play a similar role to the late guitarist hide. Luna Sea guitarist Sugizo joined the band for their reunion concerts at Tokyo Dome in March and is expected to again be the fifth member. Yoshiki told fans in Hong Kong that their chance to see X Japan will come on January 17 at the Asia World Expo. He also said he was in discussions to reschedule the show planned for Madison Square Gardens in New York, as well as a concert in Germany.

X Japan leader Yoshiki was in Taiwan yesterday on the second leg of a 4-day Asian promotion tour. The visits to four countries are to promote a rescheduled “world tour,” planned for the summer but postponed due to Yoshiki’s injuries, and is costing ¥160 million. He flew out from Narita Airport on a private jet and was greeted in Taipei by 1,000 fans and reporters. At an event held at the Taipei 101 building, currently the world’s tallest, he said that a concert originally planned for August will take place on Valentine’s Day next year at the Taipei World Trade Center. He said the band planned to bring the same stage show that they put on at their Tokyo Dome reunion in March, which included the “virtual hide” hologram. Asked how he felt about finally embarking on a world tour but without the late guitarist, Yoshiki choked up and temporarily left the stage. “We really wanted to make our debut on the world stage while hide was still alive,” he said. “The Tokyo reunion was fun, but it was tough as well because it really brought home to me that hide is no longer with us. The reunion of X was something we struggled with for years and years, but what helped us was the fans around the world. We’re gonna put on a great show for all those fans who waited for us!” He later joined the crowd outside the building in a chorus of the fan’s famous “We Are X,” whereupon the 509.2m building was illuminated with a giant X.

• Musician Kiyokiba Shunsuke (28) has left the Avex Entertainment label and the LDH management agency and set up his own. He made his debut in 2001 as vocalist of the group Exile, using his nickname Shun. Following that group’s huge commercial success, he started a parallel solo career in 2004 and released his first solo album in 2005. He quit Exile at the end of March 2006 and had his first movie starring role in “Tengoku wa Matte Kureru” in 2007. He also has his own fashion label, “Eno Hundert Elf.”

• Talento Nakagawa Shoko (23) is clearly the idol most beloved of Japanese computer geeks. Her “Shokotan Burogu” website recently passed the 1.5-billion pageview mark, making it by far Japan’s most popular celebrity blog. Which makes her the ideal choice for computer security company Symantec as their new campaign girl for the Norton product range. She attended a PR event in Tokyo yesterday for the “Norton 2009 Series,” which went on sale earlier this month. Reinforcing her image as an idol that geeks can identify with, she said her latest thing is checking out online photos of other idols.

Yoshiki, the drummer and leader of rock band X Japan, made his first public appearance in several months yesterday. He arrived – 40 minutes late, as always – at the Yoyogi Olympic Plaza in central Tokyo in a black Lamborghini Murciélago with his name and a promo for the RockStar energy drink splashed across it. He delighted the 10,000 fans who had gathered for the PR event by announcing that the band will play live shows in Japan at Christmas and on New Year’s Eve, though the venues have yet to be decided, and plan to release some new material. X Japan will play a rescheduled concert in Paris on November 22, followed by shows in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Korea. There was no mention of a rescheduling of the show originally slated for New York last weekend. The shows were planned as part of a summer world tour but postponed because of injuries Yoshiki suffered while performing in the spring. He has spent the last few months recuperating at his home in Los Angeles and looked in good form yesterday, though he said he is still on the road to recovery. He also said that he is to do the music for a series of events in the U.S. in 2010 to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary movie maker Kurosawa Akira (profile).

• Japan Zone reported a week ago that TRF member Yu-ki (41) was forced to drop out of an upcoming Avex musical due to medical problems. At the time, the plan was to completely drop her part in “Kokoro no Kakera” as there was no time to find a replacement. But it was announced yesterday that her acting parts will be taken over by actress Nakamura Machiko (34), while singer Suzuki Ami (26) will add another seven songs to her performance. The musical is part of Avex’s 20th anniversary celebrations. Yu-ki is said to be recuperating at home and is unlikely to be able to attend the show.

• NTV announcer Saito Maria (30) revealed on her blog yesterday that she formally quit the network at the end of August. She joined NTV in 2000 but got married in 2002 and had her first child later that year. She took two and a half years off for maternity leave before going back to work. She became pregnant again in October 2006 and once again took maternity leave.

• Japan’s oldest living movie director is still going strong. Shindo Kaneto (96) gave a press conference at the Film School of Tokyo yesterday for his latest release. “Hanawa Chiredomo” is based on his own youth, in particular his elementary school days, and was filmed at the end of last summer. “I turned 95 during the hot summer months making this movie. I thought that it might be my last work so I put everything into it,” he said, adding, “But if my health allows, I’d like to make another one.”

• He’s one of the more familiar faces in Japanese TV drama and movies but Ibu Masato (59) is also a singer. And tomorrow he releases his first ever hits collection. The double album “Ibu no Subete” (All About Ibu, a pun on the classic movie title “All About Eve”) contains 24 tracks, including his 1983 hit “Kodomotachi wo Semenaide”. The song was a cover of the Sammy Davis Jr. hit “Don’t Blame the Children.” Ibu established himself as a serious actor who often played the bad guy but in recent years has had more comic roles. He is currently appearing in Kitano Takeshi’s “Akiresu to Kame” (Achilles and the Tortoise). A generation of Japanese remember him as the voice of Deslar in the classic anime series “Uchusenkan Yamato” (Space Battleship Yamato).

At the weekend, the Japanese movie “Okuribito” (Departures) won three prizes at China’s biggest film festival…or did it? The Takita Yojiro-directed movie won the Grand Prix des Americas at the Montreal World Film Festival earlier this month, and on Friday it was announced as Japan’s entry for Best Foreign Film at next year’s Academy Awards. Japanese media reported that on Saturday it took three audience awards at the 17th biennial Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, where it was one of 18 invited foreign movies. In addition to taking Best Film, star Motoki Masahiro (42) won as Best Actor, and Takita took the Best Director award. The awards were decided by a panel of 101 judges drawn from 2.6 million readers of the People’s Film magazine. But media outside Japan includes no mention whatsoever of the Japanese film. Chinese and foreign news reports say that director Feng Xiaogang’s war movie “Assembly” was the big winner, taking the awards for Best Film, Director, Actor and Supporting Actor. Japan Zone can only assume that there were separate awards for Chinese and foreign films. Regardless of whether there is in fact any confusion, the cast members took full advantage of the publicity when they appeared at a screening in Tokyo on Saturday. For the media photo shoot, Motoki held plaques commemorating the awards. Co-starring Hirosue Ryoko (28), “Okuribito” tells the story of an out-of-work cellist who takes up the job of an undertaker.

• Actor Fuse Hiroshi (50) and actress Komura Hiro (42) are on the verge of ending their 16-year marriage. Komura’s lawyer filed for a divorce at the end of August. Long considered one of the ideal showbiz couples, the first cracks appeared earlier this year. Appearing on a TV show in April, Komura said they had been separated since 2006. Though it’s rumored that Fuse has a long and ongoing extra-marital relationship, Komura said the source of the trouble was the question of how to care for the aging parents on both sides of the family. Fuse was still living in the same home as his parents, while Komura had moved with their three sons to a house near her parents. Asked about their relationship at the time, Komura said, “The children keep in touch with their father. But I don’t have much contact with him.” She gave up acting while her children were small but has since resumed her career, returning to the stage in July 2006.

• Also going their separate ways are actor Kato Haruhiko (33) and popular Chukyo TV announcer Honda Sayuri (31), it was revealed on Saturday. The two Nagoya natives started dating after they appeared together on an NTV telethon in August 2006, but are said to have split up at the beginning of this year. One women’s magazine reported that Kato had called off wedding plans after consulting with a feng sui practitioner.

• Happier news for former Yomiuri Giants pitcher Miyamoto Kazutomo (44). Now a commentator on the NTV sports program “Zoom In!! Saturday,” he was uncharacteristically red-faced as he announced on the show that he got remarried last week. He said that he and nihon buyoka (Japanese traditional dancer) Wakayagi Kirara (32) tied the knot on September 9. She is the daughter of senior buyoka Wakagi Hikosaemon who, in 1998 represented Japan in the Miss Asia Pacific beauty contest. Miyamoto’s first marriage ended in 1996, and his baseball career a year later.

J-rock guitarist Sugizo is to join the band Juno Reactor their North America tour later this month. The “Gods and Monsters” tour is in support of the recent album of the same name, which featured Sugizo, one-time Asian Dub Foundation vocalist Ghetto Priest and a host of other guest artists from around the world. The tour is their first visit to the U.S. in seven years. They will have a hectic schedule, taking in two shows in Mexico on September 18-19 and then Denver, Aspen, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York between September 20-28. A multi-ethnic group that defy simple categorization, Juno Reactor have been at the forefront of electronic music for over 15 years. The band themselves classify their music as electronica/industrial/ambient. Whatever you call it, it has featured in a multitude of movies (including “The Matrix”), video games and commercials over the years, and they headlined Japan’s major Fuji Rock Festival in 2007. As the lead guitarist for top J-rock band Luna Sea, Sugizo is a pioneer of the J-rock scene, and recently performed with the reunited X Japan. He also joined Juno Reactor on their recent tour of Europe, though their official site doesn’t say if he’ll be with them for a scheduled October 30 show in Sofia, Bulgaria.

• Fuji TV announcer Ito Toshihiro (36) announced yesterday on the network’s “Mezamashi Terebi” morning show that he became a father this week. Standing in for presenter Ohtsuka Norikazu (59), who is on summer vacation, he said his wife gave birth to a baby boy on Wednesday. Ito is also the main presenter on the “Sakiyomi” news show, on which he had to read out a letter of apology from co-presenter Yamamoto Mona after she was found to be having an affair with a baseball star. Meanwhile, actress Ohkochi Nanako (31) and stage actor/producer Takuma Takayuki (38) are also the proud parents of a new baby boy. They announced the September 4 birth through their management agencies this week.

• It seems that talento Anzai Hiroko (29) is on her way back into showbiz, though slowly. A hugely popular model and TV personality in the late 1990s, and considered along with Hamasaki Ayumi to be a fashion and style leader for a generation of young Japanese females, she largely disappeared from the scene in the last few years. Her only appearance in the news was late last year when she split up with Kawabata Kaname (29) of the J-pop duo Chemistry. And she was recently included in a “Flash” magazine “where are they now?” article on busty pin-up girls. But she graces the cover of the latest issue of fashion magazine “Blenda Black” and features in a special spread inside.

• Canadian sk8ter girl Avril Lavigne (23) kicked off her latest Japan tour at the Hamamatsu Arena on Wednesday night. She entertained the 5,000 fans with a 17-song set that consisted mostly of songs from her third album, “Best Damn Thing” (Lavigne is the only foreign artist to see their first three albums become million-sellers in Japan). During the encore, she was joined by her husband, Sum 41 vocalist Deryck Whibley, on guitar for a rendition of “In Too Deep.” Her September 16 show at Tokyo Dome will feature guest appearances by local J-pop stars Puffy and Ohtsuka Ai.

• Doctor/talento Nishikawa Ayako (37) is in a relationship with a former politician, according to this week’s issue of weekly magazine “Friday.” Famous for saying she could never marry someone who makes less than ¥40 million a year, Nishikawa was spotted several times out on the town with the 34-year-old former secretary to diet member Hirasawa Katsuei, after which she spent the night at his luxury Tokyo apartment. Her management agency has acknowledged the relationship, saying they’ve known each other for about ten years but began dating only recently and adding, “She’s 37 after all. This could be her last chance.” Asked about his income from the welfare company her new boyfriend now runs, Nishikawa insisted “It’s not about the money, it’s love!”

Japan-based South Korean singer BoA (21, profile) appeared at a press conference yesterday with both her left arm and left leg in plaster. The event, held at a hotel in Seoul, was to promote her assault on the U.S. pop market, but the attention of the 200 gathered reporters was immediately focused on her barely concealed injuries. She suffered a broken arm and a fractured leg the previous day when she fell down a set of stairs after a meeting at her MS Entertainment management office in the Korean capital. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was told the break would need about six weeks to fully heal. But she was upbeat about the accident, saying she was grateful it didn’t happen closer to her upcoming U.S. debut. She is due to release the single “Eat You Up” through iTunes and MySpace on October 7 and in stores on November 11. She has been preparing for the last couple of years, even going to New York to take English and dance lessons. BoA first came to Japan to launch her pop career at the tender age of 14, and she quickly became one of the first artists to achieve the crossover.

Commentator Kusayanagi Fumie was found hanged at her luxury high-rise apartment in Tokyo in the early hours of Tuesday morning. She was 54. Police say they found a note and are treating it as a suicide. Kusayanagi’s mother awoke on Tuesday morning and became concerned when she couldn’t find her daughter. She and a security man found her in her pajamas and hanging by the neck from the balcony of their 46th-floor apartment. She had been having medical problems for more than a year and underwent surgery in May 2007. While still a student at Aoyama University, the former Miss Tokyo began appearing as a commentator on NHK’s educational channel in 1975. After graduation, she worked as an emcee and reporter on TV and radio, wrote essays and books, and appeared on a government policy committee. She married and later divorced the top shogi player Manabe Kazuo, who died late last year at the age of 55. Her father was the famous journalist Kusayanagi Taizo (1924-2002).

• Scottish actor Gerard Butler (38) arrived in Tokyo yesterday on his third visit to Japan. He flew into Narita Airport, after having attended the Toronto International Film Festival, and was greeted on arrival by about 150 fans. He will attend the Japan premiere of the movie “P.S. I Love You” in the capital tonight. Butler is best known for his portrayal of the Spartan king Leonidas in “300.”

• Umemiya Momoka, the six-year-old daughter of divorcee Umemiya Anna (39), made her debut as a fashion model yesterday. With her mother and grandmother in the audience, she showed no nerves as she modeled three outfits in the new Yumi Katsura Girl range. The Umemiya family, led by actor Tatsuo and his American wife Claudia, seem unable to draw a line between public and private life, so it comes as no surprise that they would put their granddaughter on stage so young. We can only hope that Momoka can develop a healthier taste in men than her mother.

• Kato Chihiro (60) is to step down as the main commentator on TV Asahi’s “Houdou Station” news show, a post he’s held since the show started in April 2004. He will be replaced by Isshiki Kiyoshi (57), the former chief editor of “Aera” magazine and a fellow editorial committee member at the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

• Yu-ki (43), a member of the pop-dance unit TRF, has dropped out of an upcoming stage show due to neck problems. Since the end of August, he has been suffering from pain and numbness in his shoulders and arms due to problems with his cervical vertebrae. As the show is due to start next Monday, producers of “Kokoro no Kakera” have decided to write Yu-ki’s part out rather than try and replace him.

J-pop diva Amuro Namie (30, profile) has extended her run at the top of the album chart to six weeks. “Best Fiction” is enjoying the longest run for a solo female artist on top of the Oricon album chart since Kubota Saki’s “Ihoujin” in 1979-80. The most recent album to keep the No.1 spot for six weeks was “Magic” by Dreams Come True (profile) in 1993-94. Both of those albums enjoyed a long sales run over the year-end/New Year period. To coincide with the release of Amuro’s latest hits collection, she has appeared on 24 different fashion magazine covers. This has helped expand her solid fan base of 20- and 30-something women into the teen market. She recently took part for the first time in Avex’s summer festival tour and is currently preparing for her biggest ever solo tour. That kicks off on October 25 at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba and includes 40 shows in 16 cities across Japan.

• While Amuro has been an idol for girls and young women for more than a decade, Girl Next Door are just starting out. The female trio debuted last week but have already seen their first single, “Guuzen no Kakuritsu” enter the Oricon chart at No.3. Popularly known among their junior and high school girl fan base by the abbreviated “garuneku.”

• The latest of this year’s awards go to Japan’s most beautiful legs. In the 6th annual Parcassio Bikyaku Taisho event sponsored by luxury shoe maker Kuraray, celebrities were chosen by age category: actresses Hirosue Ryoko (28), Seto Asuka (31) and Maya Miki (44). And former Japan volleyball player Sugayama Kaoru (29) was the sports representative.

There was little consolation for Japan’s three entries at the Venice International Film Festival, which ended Saturday. None managed to capture the Golden Lion award for best film, which went to Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” starring Mickey Rourke. Miyazaki Hayao‘s “Gake no Ue no Ponyo” (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) picked up a “collateral” award from the Mimmo Rotella Foundation, which annually honors a film that “shows a firm connection with the arts.” A hit with audiences and critics alike, it also received the audience award from the magazine CIAK. The rival anime entry, Oshii Mamoru’s “The Sky Crawlers,” received the Future Film Festival Digital Award. Oshii said, “I guess it will take time before Japanese anime gets its due respect.” But the festival jury considered giving Ponyo a Special Lion award this year, deciding against it as Miyazaki received a lifetime achievement award in 2005. And director Marco Mueller said, “Anything other than a Lion award would have been rude.” Meanwhile, 1997 Golden Lion winner Kitano Takeshi had to settle for the Bastone Bianco Award for his entry, “Akiresu to Kame” (Achilles and the Tortoise).

• Speaking of films and festivals, this summer’s surprise hit at the Japanese box office, the movie “Detroit Metal City” may be already headed for a Hollywood re-make. Based on a six-volume manga by Wakasugi Kiminori that sold over 2 million copies, the wacky comedy stars popular young actor Matsuyama Kenichi (23), who made his name in the “Death Note” series. He plays a mild-mannered street musician with a taste for Swedish pop, but whose alter ego is the intense death metal vocalist Johannes Klauser II. In the three weeks since it opened, it’s been seen by over a million cinema-goers and has grossed over ¥2 billion. Several studios in Hollywood and Hong Kong have expressed an interest in doing a re-make. Distribution of the original has already been agreed for Hong Kong and South Korea and discussions are underway for two dozen more countries worldwide, including the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. Matsuyama and director Lee Toshio were in Canada over the weekend, where the movie was shown in the “Midnight Madness” category of the Toronto International Film Festival.

• Actress Okina Megumi (29) was in Tokyo for the opening day of her first Hollywood movie. Directed by Ochiai Masayuki, “Shutter” is a horror story about a newlywed American photographer (Joshua Jackson) who visits Japan with his new bride (Rachael Taylor) on a combined honeymoon and business trip. Okina, who plays the spirit that haunts them, looked a bit less creepy as she shook hands with fans at the Cinema Mediage in Odaiba on Saturday. A re-make of a Thai hit, the movie has not been critically well received, and was described as “second tier” compared to earlier J-horror re-makes such as “The Ring” and “The Grudge.”

• Popular duo Porno Grafitti are to release a pair of hits albums. With the October 29 release of “Ace” and “Joker” they will be hoping to repeat the success of a similar double release in 2004, when “Red’s” and “Blue’s” sold over 2 million copies between them. The new albums are composed mainly of recent singles, including the latest, “Gift,” and “Love, too. Death, too,” set for release next month. Celebrating their tenth anniversary this year, the band played shows at Yokohama Stadium at the weekend.

Freelance TV announcer Watanabe Mari (41) revealed yesterday that she is married. She and Fuji TV producer Takai Ichiro (45) tied the knot at the end of August just two months after they started dating. Watanabe, who the local media pointed out isn’t pregnant, plans to continue her television career using her maiden name. She held a press conference after filming a TV Asahi medical variety show hosted by Kitano “Beat” Takeshi, who in his usual zany style insisted on crashing the occasion and promoting his latest movie. “Give me back my youth!” he cried in a fit of faked jealousy. “Whatever happened to the love we had between us?!” Watanabe and Takai were introduced by a mutual friend back in May and registered their marriage on August 27. As their witness they chose close friend and actress Higuchi Kanako (47), who co-stars with Kitano in his movie “Akiresu to Kame” (Achilles and the Tortoise), currently competing at the Venice International Film Festival.

Watanabe joined the TBS network in 1990 and was a co-anchor on the “Chikushi Tetsuya News23” show before going freelance in 1998. She became a co-anchor on TV Asahi’s “News Station” but recently works more as a co-presenter on variety shows. Takai joined Fuji in 1987 and has worked on several of the networks most successful drama series.

• Rock band Shakalabbbits are performing their first ever overseas concerts in Canada this week. This year marks the band’s tenth anniversary and earlier this summer they performed in Japan with Canadian band Junior Achiever. That led to this week’s shows at the Drake Hotel Underground in Toronto. For Wednesday’s audience of 300 they performed a set that included hits such as “Monster Tree” and “Walk Over the Rainbow.” After a total of four shows, they’ll be returning to Japan and have a domestic tour kicking off in November.

• Actor Takashima Masanobu (41) said yesterday that he and model Mion (29) will register their marriage on September 8. The couple held a wedding ceremony on August 31 but chose next Monday to make it official as it marks six months since they decided in March to get married.