Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE!

whitedove

Yonekura's rumored romance with London Boots' Atsushi
Wed, January 16, 2008 (5:27pm EST)



Josei Seven reports that actress Ryoko Yonekura may have found a new

romance with an unlikely partner. According to the magazine, she and

comedian Atsushi Tamura (of London Boots) were seen in December

walking together at night in Roppongi.

The two appeared together on "London Hearts" last February, and one skit had

Tamura hitting on Yonekura. Josei Seven says that his advances became

serious after the show, and it appears to have paid off.

Yonekura previously dated kabuki actor Ebizo Ichikawa, and last year was

rumored to be dating former soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata. As for this recent

rumor, Yonekura's agency said it had not heard about a relationship.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

ALI PROJECT, SCANDAL added to Sakura-Con
Thu, January 17, 2008 (1:34pm EST)



A press release from Sakura-Con has announced that in addition to ketchup mania and The Slants, ALI PROJECT will attend the convention as a musical guest. Swedish group Smile.dk (of Dance Dance Revolution fame) is also attending.

In a separate announcement, the girls band SCANDAL was added to the convention lineup as well. SCANDAL will be touring the U.S. in March as part of SXSW's Japan Nite.

Sakura-Con is being held on March 28-30 in Seattle.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Tokito again wins bowling award
Thu, January 17, 2008 (1:47pm EST)



The Bowling Proprietors' Association of Japan held its 15th Bowling Mass Media Awards on Wednesday. For the second year in a row, idol Ami Tokito was given the grand prize for her Tsunku TV appearances. Tsunku himself was also awarded a special prize this year.

Another special prize was given to Miyazaki governor Hideo Higashikokubaru for a segment during Fuji TV's "FNS 27 Hour Television" last year. Sayaka Aoki received an individual award for the same show.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Saki Fukuda gets first seiyu role in "Keroro" movie
Thu, January 17, 2008 (4:12pm EST)



Teen actress Saki Fukuda has taken on her first voice acting role for the third "Keroro Gunso" movie, which opens on March 1. She is providing the voice for the mysterious girl Nasca.


Singer Kawakami wins Akutagawa Prize
Thu, January 17, 2008 (4:41pm EST)

Singer Mieko Kawakami has been awarded the 138th Akutagawa Prize for her second novel, titled "Chichi to Ran."

The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature also announced the winner of the Naoki Prize. It was given to Kazuki Sakuraba for "Watashi no Otoko."

A presentation ceremony will be held on February 22.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Mainichi Film Awards: Suo on a streak
Thu, January 17, 2008 (4:04pm EST)



Director Masayuki Suo continues to pick up honors with his latest, "Soredemo Boku wa Yattenai." On Thursday, the winners of the 62nd Mainichi Film Awards were announced, giving Suo the title of Best Director and his film the Grand Prize.

An awards ceremony will be held on February 13. Here is the complete list of winners:

Grand Prize: Soredemo Boku wa Yattenai (Masayuki Suo)
Best Film: Tennen Kokekko (Nobuhiro Yama#a)
Best Director: Masayuki Suo
Best Actor: Taichi Kokubun (Shaberedomo Shaberedomo)
Best Actress: Kumiko Aso (Yunagi no Machi, Sakura no Kuni)
Best Supporting Actor: Yutaka Matsushige (Shaberedomo Shaberedomo)
Best Supporting Actress: Keiko Takahashi (Fumiko no Umi)
Sponichi Newcomer awards: Shota Matsuda (Waruboro), Riko Narumi (A#a no Watashi no Tsukurikata, Shindo)
Kinuyo Tanaka Award: Tamao Nakamura
Best Screenplay: Aya Watanabe (Tennen Kokekko)
Best Cinematography: Hideyo Nakano (Mogari no Mori)
Best Art Direction: Takashi Sasaki (Sukiyaki Western Django)
Best Music: Rei Harakami (Tennen Kokekko)
Best Sound: Masato Komatsu (Shaberedomo Shaberedomo)
Technical Award: Michiko Kitamura (costume design in Sukiyaki Western Django)
Best Documentary: Back Drop Kurdistan
Best Foreign Film: Still Life (Jia Zhangke)
Best Animated Film: Summer Days with Coo
Noburo Ofuji Award: Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor
Tsutaya Movie Fan Award (Domestic Film): Koizora
Tsutaya Movie Fan Award (Foreign Film): Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End
Special awards: Kei Kumai, Minoru Inuzuka

Source: www.tokyograph.com

[ Last edited by  whitedove at 22-1-2008 06:09 PM ]

whitedove

Versailles headed to A-Kon
Fri, January 18, 2008 (3:19am EST)



Visual kei band Versailles will make their North American debut at A-Kon 19, courtesy of Tainted Reality. A-Kon is taking place in Dallas on May 30 to June 1.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

"Yukan Club" dominates Drama Grand Prix
Fri, January 18, 2008 (4:10am EST)

The fall 2007 winners of the Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix have been announced. A total of 12,540 ballots were cast, resulting in "Yukan Club" taking 4 of the 5 awards.

It beat "Galileo" for Best Drama by 3,652 votes. It also took Best Actor (Jin Akanishi), Best Supporting Actor (Junnosuke Taguchi), and Best Supporting Actress (Yu Kashii), winning each category by more than a thousand votes.

For Best Actress, Miho Kanno ("Hataraki Man") was #1.

The overall awards for 2007 will be decided in a few months. The nominees in each category include the top five from each season.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

[JAPAN] Televiews / Dramatization of 慡aito-san

whitedove

Gekidan, Kashii star in drama special about artist
Sun, January 20, 2008 (5:34pm EST)



Comedian Hitori Gekidan has his first starring drama role in a Fuji TV special titled "Ware wa Gogh ni Naru!" The show depicts the early years of the famous woodblock artist Shiko Munakata, who passed away in 1975. Actress Yu Kashii will play his wife.

Filming began on Saturday. Fuji TV plans to broadcast the drama this summer.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Kie Kitano chosen as heroine for "Gegege no Kitaro" sequel
Sun, January 20, 2008 (6:17pm EST)



Teen actress Kie Kitano has been selected to be the heroine in the "Gegege no Kitaro" live-action movie sequel that was announced earlier this month. She will play a shy member of a high school marching band who helps the Kitaro family solve a series of mysterious disappearances. Her character is the only human girl among the main cast.

Directed by Katsuhide Motoki, the film is scheduled to open in theaters this summer.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Chiba's first directorial work announced
Sun, January 20, 2008 (8:07pm EST)



Sonny Chiba, who has changed his stage name to JJ Sonny Chiba, has revealed his first project as a movie director. Using his newly created alias of Rindo Wachinaga, he is directing and writing a film called "Za Toichi," an obvious play on the famous work "Zatoichi."

The title can be read as "The Toichi," where "toichi" is a common abbreviation of the phrase "tooka de ichiwari," referring to illegal loans that charge 10% interest for every 10 days. The protagonist, played by V-Cinema actor Ginji Yoshikawa, is a moneylender who, like the swordsman Zatoichi, is blind.

Chiba (as Wachinaga) is directing and writing the script, and there is a possibility that he will co-star with Yoshikawa under his acting name.

The film's budget is reportedly 200 million yen. Filming is scheduled to begin in April, followed by a possible release in the fall.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Charts: TVXQ lands at #1
Tue, January 22, 2008 (5:55pm EST)



"Purple Line," the newest single by boy band TVXQ (aka Tohoshinki), sold roughly 40,000 copies in its initial week to take #1 on the charts. This makes TVXQ the first foreign male singers to top the charts. (Four female artists have achieved this before: BoA, Ouyang Feifei, Judy Ongg, and Agnes Chan.)

Acid Black Cherry and Perfume were not far behind, ranking in at #2 and #3. Except for #5, the rest of the Top 10 were new releases: WaT, GReeeeN, BEAT CRUSADERS, Yuna Ito & Celine Dion, Natsumi Abe & Maimi Yajima, and Miyavi.



The albums chart saw much more impressive sales, with Bank Band at #1 after selling 176,000 copies of "Soushi Souai 2." This finally bumped Kobukuro down to #2, but "5296" still sold enough to push the album over the million mark. Meanwhile, UVERworld's "PROGLUTION" came in at #3 with 101,000 in sales.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Comedians? Kanjani8's Shibutani and Murakami un-idol through their first act together!



The popular group Kanjani8's Shibutani Subaru (26) and Murakami Shingo's (25) self produced act, "Mitei" Ichi, in which they both play lead roles has started in Tokyo, Shinjuku's Tokyo Globe-za. They held a press meeting before the act, appearing in the white full-body tights that they wear during the act. It is a comedy full of ad-libbing where they have sealed singing and dancing, discarding everything idol-like, they show a new front.

They will put away their titles as "idols" into the depths of their hearts for a month. As if a comedian pair, Shibutani and Murakami have begun their first act together, "Mitei" Ichi in white full-body tights.

"We are, still doing this as idols..." says Shibutani with a ironical smile in the meeting before the act, but the dialogue with Murakami with the occasional Kansai dialect showed them to be complete comedians.

Shibutani: "There are things throughout [the act] that no one's tried before. I think doing things like this with all my strength is maybe a good thing. Shall we eventually make a subsidiary company [under the Johnny's company] through this?"

Murakami: "(In Kanjani8) us two were the ones with empty schedules. We thought maybe we could do something since we had time on our hands. But we're doing it without any plans, so we don't know what'll happen either."

Shibutani came up with the idea, and the two of them have self-produced it, the contents are out-of-this-world as well as impossible to predict. In the public rehearsal, there were nearly 100 props including colorful costumes and hats, wigs, and sunglasses prepared on stage, and they quickly change on-the-spot depending on what they come up with. They acted out "improvised stories" full of ad libs within the alotted 10 minutes.

In Kanjani8's concerts and variety show, the two have shown their comedy as a duo named "Matsuhara Kazuhiro." While Yokoyama You (26) and Nishikido Ryo (23) follow the path of orthodox acting, they have established unique character.

The Tokyo shows are until Febrary 3rd, followed by shows in Osaka, at Umeda Geijutsu Gekijou from the 9th till the 15th, but the tickets sold in advance are all sold-out. Deeply moved, Murakami says "6 years ago it [Kanjani8's stageplay] was completely empty. Just the two of us now have a full audience." Referring to the title of their act, Shibutani says "If it's (their acts) not funny, well it's "Mitei (undecided)" so. I want to continue with a Two, Three and so on." Now in their 12th year after joining Johnny's Jr, they have started the year with a new way to entice.

credits to http://enshinge.livejournal.com/9773.html and http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt200801/gt2008012001.html

whitedove

Fans of the legendary X Japan got more details of the rock band's long-awaited comeback yesterday. The four surviving members of the band attended two events in Tokyo, with a visibly jet-lagged Yoshiki (42) having flown in Saturday from his home in L.A. "This is an important announcement and I wanted to make it in person," he said. The first event was a press conference at the Apple Store. Their new single "I.V.", which appears on the soundtrack of the horror movie "Saw4" and features the late guitarist hide (1964-98), will be released worldwide on iTunes on January 23.

But the big news that fans were waiting for was about their upcoming concerts. The band announced two shows on March 28 & 30 at Tokyo Dome, the venue for their farewell concert at the end of 1997, and an extra show at Ajinomoto Stadium on May 3. May 2 marks ten years since hide's death and the band plan to have his guitar on stage for the shows. There is also a plan for Luna Sea's guitarist Sugizo to play hide's parts, as the band was discovered by the X Japan axeman. The Dome concerts are titled "Kougeki Saikai 2008 I.V. - Hametsu ni Mukatte", which roughly translates as "Resume Attack 2008 I.V. - Facing Destruction". The first show will be called "Hakai no Yoru" (Destruction Night), and the second "Souzou no Yoru" (Creation Night). Yoshiki said, "Though I say it myself, the return of X Japan is a miracle, something I never thought would happen. But I don't want it to be like a school reunion. I want to play a tense and dangerous concert."

During the evening event, held at Shibuya's Tower Records, they recorded a radio show to be broadcast on FM Fuji on February 11. Yoshiki and vocalist Toshi (42) talked about going to karaoke together, perhaps in an effort to dispel rumors of animosity between them.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Fuji TV to air drama special about heroic cop
Mon, January 21, 2008 (2:50pm EST)

On February 15, Fuji TV will broadcast a documentary drama special titled "Shinu n janai!" starring actor Yuji Miyake. The story illustrates the life of Tokyo policeman Kunihiko Miyamoto, who died last February after being hit by a train while saving a woman who tried to commit suicide.



Other characters in the drama include Miyamoto's wife (played by Ran Ito), his colleague (Mikihisa Azuma), and an unagi shop owner (Raita Ryu).

Souce: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Aibu, Furuta chosen as casters for Olympics coverage
Mon, January 21, 2008 (8:17pm EST)



Fuji TV has announced that actress Saki Aibu and former Yakult Swallows player-manager Atsuya Furuta will serve as special casters for its coverage of the Olympic Games in Beijing this year.

Furuta previously served as a caster for the network's broadcast of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. Aibu has never had experience as a TV caster.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Kazumasa Oda album reaches 300th consecutive week on charts
Mon, January 21, 2008 (7:35pm EST)



Kazumasa Oda's best album "Jiko Best" ranked in at #28 on Oricon's latest album charts. This marks its 300th consecutive week in the ranking chart, which lists the 300 best-selling albums each week. Oda is the first artist to achieve this milestone.

"Jiko Best" was released in April 2002 and entered the charts at #1. So far, it has sold close to 2.45 million copies.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

The case against singer Takahashi Yuya (28) on drug charges began yesterday at the Tokyo District Court. The second son of actress Mita Yoshiko (66), he was arrested in the capital in mid-November. After getting high in a convenience store toilet, he was found with 0.1g of amphetamines in his possession when stopped by police. It is his third drug arrest and he has confessed to the charges, so it is likely that this time he will receive a prison sentence along the lines of the two years that prosecutors are seeking. After his first two arrests, the first dating back to when he was 18, Mita took responsibility and gave up work and lucrative commercial contracts. But she says she has now reached the limit of what she can do as a parent and has left the responsibility to his father.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Former top idol singer Hori Chiemi (40) said on her blog yesterday that she broke a rib last week in a fall at her home.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Masahiko Tsugawa working on film about Asahiyama Zoo
Tue, January 22, 2008 (4:25am EST)

Masahiko Tsugawa's third film as a director will be "Asahiyama Doubutsuen Monogatari," a documentary-style story about the Asahiyama Zoo.

Once on the verge of closure, the zoo was transformed into the most popular zoo in Japan. Its history has previously been captured in literature and on television, but this will be the first attempt at a movie. Tsugawa actually appeared in the two Fuji TV drama specials on the subject (in 2006 and 2007).

Filming is scheduled to last for two and a half months, starting on February 3. It will be shot at several zoos, including Asahiyama. The movie is scheduled for release in spring 2009.



Toshiyuki Nishida will play the lead role. The supporting cast includes Yasuhi Nakamura, Ittoku Kishibe, Hiroyuki Nagato (who happens to be Tsugawa's brother), Takashi Sasano, Akira Emoto, and Ai Maeda.

Source: www.tokyograph.com