Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE!

whitedove

1) Masashi Akikawa - Senno Kazeninatte (29,094)
2) CHAGE and ASKA - Man and Woman (17,783)
3) CHAGE and ASKA - Here & There (16,728)
4) Mr. Children - Shirushi (15,166)
5) Jun Shibata - HIROMI (10,487)
6) TOKIO - Sorafune/do! do! do! (9,698)
7) ANNA TSUCHIYA inspi' NANA (BLACK STONES) - (9,544)
8) Straightener - SIX DAY WONDER (9,439)
9) Fujifabric - Aoi Tori (8,107)
10) KAT-TUN - Bokura no Machi de (6,785)

whitedove

1) Kumi Koda - Black Cherry (57,804)
2) Ayaka - First Message (30,223)
3) Yo Hitoto - BESTYO (25,011)
4) Kobukuro - ALL SINGLES BEST (24,387)
5) SOUL'd OUT - Single Collection (19,834)
6) Aqua Timez - Kaze wo Atsumete (18.032)
7) Various Artistes - Beautiful Songs ~Kokoro de Kiku Uta~ (17,196)
8) Off Course - i(ai) Off Course All Time Best (16,712)
9) Sukima Switch - Yukaze Blend (16,003)
10) My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade (15,638)

whitedove

Johnny's veteran Higashiyama Noriyuki (40) has fessed up to his romance with actress Uchiyama Rina (25). The former Shonentai member admitted to the relationship in a message to fans on the Johnny's Web mobile site.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Morning Musume leader Yoshizawa Hitomi (21) is a true professional. Yesterday, she made a scheduled concert appearance with the dozens of other Hello! Project members despite the recent tragic death of her younger brother. The 26-song set went ahead as planned, with the pink-clad Yoshizawa making reference only to how sad she was about her planned "graduation" from Morning Musume in May. She is currently the longest-serving member of the group, having joined in 2000. Word of her personal tragedy had spread among the 2,400 fans at the Osaka Kouseinenkin Kaikan hall, and they shouted their encouragement. But reporters were told that she would not be answering any questions about the tragedy after the concert. 16-year-old Yoshizawa Hirota was killed in a traffic accident last Thursday.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Also on the road are rock band GLAY, who kicked off the second leg of their 42-show nationwide tour at the Yokohama Arena yesterday. Some 13,500 fans enjoyed a two-and-a-half-hour set that included the new single "100-mankai no Kiss", out on January 17. It's taken from their first original album in almost three years, "Love is Beautiful", which goes on sale January 31.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Sunday's opening episode of Kimura Takuya's latest drama scored a high 27.7% audience rating in the Kanto region, according to Video Research. TBS's "Karenaru Ichizoku" is by far the most popular drama of the winter season, though its ratings still fall well below Kimutaku's best. Of the 12 series he's starred in going back to Fuji's mega-hit "Long Vacation" in 1996, the latest opener ranked only 8th.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Clint Eastwood's intense Japanese WWII drama "Letters From Iwo Jima" beat a strong field to win the Golden Globe for best foreign language film. It's the first time a Japanese-language movie has taken the award since Ichikawa Kon's "Kagi" in 1959, the year that "Letters..." star Watanabe Ken (47) was born. He was in Hollywood for the award show with his wife, actress Minami Kaho (42). The movie is now a strong contender for an Oscar next month, though as a Hollywood production it will first need to be nominated for Best Picture. Meanwhile, actress Kikuchi Rinko (26) failed to see her role in "Babel" earn her the best supporting actress award, which went to Jennifer Hudson (25) for "Dreamgirls". But Kikuchi did have the consolation of seeing Babel take the prize for best film and sharing the joy with co-star Angelina Jolie (31). And she is still in with a chance of being the first Japanese actress since Miyoshi "Nancy" Umeki in 1957 to win an Oscar.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Popular actor Tanihara Shousuke (34) gave a press conference yesterday to announce his engagement to former talento Miyake Emi (29). The couple performed together on the 2001 Fuji TV drama "Kyuumeibyoutou 24-ji", though romance for both of them lay elsewhere. Miyake was pregnant when she married actor Ishida Issei (32) in 2003, and they divorced in January 2006. She is also two months pregnant this time, so Tanihara is getting two kids as well as a wife. He was linked with Othello comedienne Nakajima Tomoko (35) in 2004, but they split the following year. He is currently appearing in two drama series, including this year's taiga on NHK, and is a presenter on the TBS Saturday morning show "O-sama no Brunch".

Source: www.japan-zone.com

IrvingLorenzo

album Yuna Ito, Heart kuar arini kat Jepun!!!

cam tak best arr album tu. lagu2 yg sedap cuma Fragile dan Tender Is The night. yg lain hampeh la. dahla cuma 6 lagu baru lak tu.....aiyooo semua mediocre lak tu...

whitedove

Coming soon is hip hop star Kanye West (29), who will join the local Teriyaki Boyz for a live performance on TV Asahi's "Music Station" on January 26. Last year saw appearances by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and U2 on the show, but both were in Japan for concerts. West, who was here in November, is scheduled to play shows from March 31 to April 3, but this month's visit is simply in support of the Boyz. Together they'll be performing "I Still Love H.E.R." West is a personal friend of Boyz member and fashion guru Nigo (36), the founder of the A Bathing Ape brand.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

tapi still ramai predict akan dapat no.1 this week, unless BoA's Made In Twenty sells better...

new album releases this week:

"Heart" by Yuna Ito
"Spiral Circle - Complete" by UnsraW
"All Singles Best" by Suga Shikao
"Dead Rock" by GUITAR WOLF
"Unoshiki" by Himitsu Kessha Codomo A

whitedove

Academy Award nominations go to 'Letters From Iwo Jima,' Kikuchi

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis, and actress Salma Hayek announce the nominees for best supporting actress for the 79th annual Academy Awards during a televised news conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., Tuesday morning, Jan. 23, 2007. The nominees are: Adriana Barraza for "Babel," Cate Blanchett for "Notes on a Scandal," Abigail Breslin for "Little Miss Sunshine," Jennifer Hudson for "Dreamgirls," Rinko Kikuchi for "Babel."



"Letters From Iwo Jima," the Japanese language movie directed by Clint Eastwood, was Tuesday nominated for best picture, while Japan's Rinko Kikuchi is up for the best supporting actress gong for her role in "Babel" at the Academy Awards next month.

The crowd-pleasing musical "Dreamgirls" led Academy Awards contenders Tuesday with eight nominations, but surprisingly was shut out in the best picture category after being considered a potential front-runner.

The sweeping multi-cultural ensemble drama "Babel" was close behind with seven, including best picture and acting honors for two newcomers to U.S. audiences, Mexico's Adriana Barraza and Japan's Kikuchi.

Other best-picture nominees were the bloody crime saga "The Departed," the road-trip comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" and the monarchy-in-crisis chronicle "The Queen."

Going into nominations day, the best-picture competition looked unusually wide open, with no consensus on a favorite. With "Dreamgirls," a Golden Globe winner out of the race, the best picture competition was even more up for grabs.

But front-runners in all four acting categories nabbed nominations and seem poised to come home with Oscars on Feb. 25: Britain's Helen Mirren for best actress as British monarch Elizabeth II in "The Queen"; Forest Whitaker for best actor as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland"; and Eddie Murphy and former "American Idol" finalist Jennifer Hudson as soulful singers in "Dreamgirls."

All four preceded the Oscar nominations with wins at the Golden Globes.

Oscar attention is a new experience for Murphy, whose fast-talking persona has brought him devoted audiences but little awards acclaim in his 25-year career. For Hudson, the nomination caps a speedy rise to stardom with her first film role, just two years after making her name as a finalist on the hit TV singing competition "American Idol."

The best-actress category featured a 14th nomination for two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, padding her record as the most-nominated actor ever, this time as a demonically demanding boss in "The Devil Wears Prada."
Actor and director Clint Eastwood attends the premiere of his film "Letters from Iwo Jima" in Tokyo in this November 15, 2006. Eastwood received his nomination on January 23, 2007 for best director at the 79th annual Academy Awards, which are to be presented on February 25, 2007. (Reuters/Yuriko Nakao/Files)

Joining Mirren and Streep as best-actress nominees were Spain's Penelope Cruz as a woman dealing with bizarre domestic crises in "Volver"; Judi Dench as a scheming teacher in "Notes on a Scandal" and Kate Winslet as a woman in an affair with a neighbor in "Little Children."

Other best-actor nominees were Leonardo DiCaprio as a mercenary hunting a rare gem in "Blood Diamond"; Ryan Gosling as a teacher with a drug addiction in "Half Nelson"; Peter O'Toole as a lecherous old actor in "Venus"; and Will Smith as a homeless dad in "The Pursuit of Happyness."

Whitaker is expected to come away with the best actor award, though sentiment is high for the Irish-born O'Toole, who has been nominated seven times, losing each. An eighth loss for O'Toole, who nearly turned down an honorary Oscar three years ago because he hoped to earn one outright, would put him in the record books as the actor with the most nominations without winning.

This finally may be the year for another perennial loser, Scorsese, who is tied with four other directors for the Oscar-futility record of five nominations and five losses.

"The Departed" marks Scorsese's return to the cops-and-mobsters genre he mastered in decades past and is considered his best shot to finally win an Oscar, though a sixth defeat would put him alone in the record book as the losingest director ever. (Compiled from Mainichi and AP reports)

whitedove

1) GLAY - 100mankai no Kiss (144,680) NEW
2) EXILE - Lovers Again (132,995) NEW
3) Masashi Akikawa - Senno Kazeninatte (89,994)
4) YUI - Rolling star (75,390) NEW
5) Ken Hirai - Aika (Elegy) (46,894) NEW
6) Kaela Kimura - Snowdome (39,718) NEW
7) w-inds. - Hanamuke (33,739) NEW
8) Ringo Shiina x Neko Saito + Junpei Shiina - Kono Yono Kagiri (33,077) NEW
9) Mr. Children - Shirushi (12,924)
10) kannivalism - Hoshi no Yoru (12,533) NEW

whitedove

1) BoA - MADE IN TWENTY (20) (182,009) NEW
2) Salyu - TERMINAL (43,975) NEW
3) Tamio Okuda - Kinen Rider 1Go ~Okuda Tamio Single Collection~ (41,686) NEW
4) Kumi Koda - Black Cherry (39,122)
5) Tamio Okuda - Kinen Rider 2Go ~Okuda Tamio Single Collection~ (38,097) NEW
6) Yo Hitoto - BESTYO (24,467)
7) Ayaka - First Message (23,834)
8) Kobukuro - ALL SINGLES BEST (21,613)
9) Akina Nakamori - Utahime Best ~25th Anniversary Selection~ (18,519) NEW
10) The Birthday - NIGHT LINE (17,567) NEW

whitedove

It was announced on Sunday that a sequel to last year's "Kuitan" drama series is in the works. "Kuitan 2" will again feature Noriyuki Higashiyama as the gluttonous detective nicknamed "Kuitan," but this time he will also face another challenge: love. Incidentally, the announcement comes not long after it was discovered that Higashiyama is currently dating actress Rina Uchiyama.

"Kuitan 2" will begin in April, running in the Saturday 9:00pm time slot.

Source: http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-360

whitedove

Actress Uchida Yuki (31) is to make her first movie appearance in nine years. She will star in "Quiet Room ni Youkoso", written and directed by Matsuo Suzuki (44). Based on his Akutagawa Prize-winning novel, it is the story of a divorcee writer who one day finds herself confined in a hospital isolation ward. Uchida is herself a divorcee, having split from actor Yoshioka Hidetaka (36) in 2005. She returned to TV drama last year after a 4-year absence from the small screen.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Actor Kenichi Matsuyama (known for his recent role as L in the Death Note movies) will be starring in a TV drama series this spring. The series is based on the "Sexy Voice and Robo" manga written by Iou Kuroda. Matsuyama will play a young otaku who likes robots.

The drama will begin in April, airing in NTV's Tuesday 10:00pm time slot. This block is currently part of NTV's 2-hour "Kayo Suspense Gekijo" drama program, but the station will be eliminating it, choosing to replace it with a new variety show at 9:00, followed by the 10:00 drama time slot.

http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-379

[ Last edited by  whitedove at 27-1-2007 12:15 PM ]

IrvingLorenzo

Nampaknya album terbaru Ayaka Hirahara "Sora" dah di-leak kt internet....cuma 10 je lagu utk album baru dia....bolehkah albumnya menduduki top10 Oricon charts? Dia nie ok jugak populariti-nya.

whitedove

WORLD CINEMA
The story is written on this actor's face


Kazunari Ninomiya, 23, expands an already long r閟um

whitedove

mungkin boleh duduk carta weekly Top10, tapi kategori album rasanya GLAY akan dapat no.1

New singles release this week:

"Oh My Juliet" y LM.C
"Catch On Everywhere" by POLYSICS
"diamond cycle" by access
"Grind Candy" by PENICILLIN
"HONEY BEAT / Boku to Bokura no A#a" by V6
"Eden" by gechena

New albums release this week:

"Love Is Beautiful" by GLAY
"Cycle Recycle" by Metronome
"Sora" by Ayaka Hirahara