Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part II]

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Charts: KAT-TUN, Superfly
Wed, May 21, 2008 (2:41am EDT)



Last week, NEWS had the #1 single with "SUMMER TIME," extending their streak of chart-topping singles to 9. This week, they were ousted by fellow Johnny's group KAT-TUN, who had their 7th consecutive #1 with "DON'T U EVER STOP." It sold close to 382,000 copies, giving it the biggest opening week of 2008 (previously set by KAT-TUN's "LIPS" in February).

Other entrants into the top 10 were Buono! at #4, Suga Shikao at #5, Ayaka at #6, and Kiyoharu at #9.



On the album charts, the self-titled debut album of Superfly (now a solo project) took the top spot with 123,000 copies sold. At #2 was actor Yutaka Mizutani with a self-cover collection titled "TIME CAPSULE," his first studio album in 22 years.

Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi also made the charts (at #5), as did indie rock group The Band Apart (#7).

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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GReeeeN recaptures record for fastest million downloads
Tue, May 20, 2008 (12:19am EDT)



GReeeeN has reclaimed a digital download record with their newest single "Kiseki," which is being used as the theme song for the drama series "ROOKIES."

The group's hit song "Aiuta" had previously set a record for reaching 1 million chaku-uta downloads in only 91 days. In March, Thelma Aoyama broke that record with "Soba ni Iru ne," taking only 43 days to reach a million. Now, "Kiseki" has set the new record in less than a month - it was released on April 19 and achieved a million downloads as of May 18. It has also been #1 on Recochoku's weekly chaku-uta rankings for four consecutive weeks.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Minako Tanaka becomes a mother
Tue, May 20, 2008 (12:57am EDT)



Actress Minako Tanaka (40) became a mother on April 15, it was announced on Monday. According to her management, the baby girl was born via c-section about a month ahead of schedule, which happens to give her the same birthday as her father, actor Taro Okada (34).

Tanaka and Okada have been married since last September. The actress is expected to return to work by July.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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"Ando Natsu" gets drama adaptation
Tue, May 20, 2008 (1:22am EDT)



TBS's Monday 8:00pm drama time slot, typically known for jidaigeki series such as "Mitokomon," will see its first female lead in 39 years. Shihori Kanjiya has been chosen for that honor, starring in a live-action version of the manga "Ando Natsu."

"Ando Natsu," written by Yuji Nishi and illustrated by Terry Yamamoto, is currently serialized in Big Comic Original and has sold more than 700,000 copies of its tankoubons. Kanjiya plays the role of the protagonist Natsu Ando, a young woman striving to be a pastry chef. (The title is sometimes spelled "AnDonuts," referring to a type of doughnut with sweet bean paste.)

The drama is the latest in a string of starring roles for Kanjiya, who recently played an aspiring rakugo storyteller in the NHK morning drama "Chiritotechin." This will be her first time leading a series during golden time (7pm-10pm).

Kanjiya's co-star is Jun Kunimura, who plays the role of her mentor. Toshinori Omi and Jun Fubuki also appear in the series. Broadcast begins on July 7.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Kyoko Hasegawa to play heroine in Mannix's "Rain Fall"
Tue, May 20, 2008 (1:53am EDT)



The next big role for actress Kyoko Hasegawa is playing the heroine in Max Mannix's "Rain Fall," a movie based on a series of suspense novels by American author Barry Eisler. She is joining a cast that includes Kippei Shiina and British actor Gary Oldman.



Shiina stars as John Rain, a half-Japanese, half-American assassin who once worked for the U.S. military. He becomes entangled in a political plot, leading a CIA agent (Oldman) to hunt him down. Hasegawa is taking on an important role as a jazz pianist being pursued by John Rain.

Hasegawa is currently taking lessons in piano, as she will perform the music scenes herself on camera. She first learned piano as a child but stopped by the age of 9, though a year ago she happened to buy an electronic piano and had been playing it since then. However, she stated that she was glad to be playing on a grand piano for the first time in 20 years.

"Rain Fall" is scheduled to open in Japan in April 2009.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

HALCALI, Shota Shimizu to perform at NY's Japan Day
Tue, May 20, 2008 (2:47am EDT)



On June 1, an annual event known as Japan Day will be held for the second time in New York's Central Park. This year's festivities will include performances by two artists from Japan: the pop/hip-hop duo HALCALI and the recently debuted singer Shota Shimizu. Two local bands have also been invited to perform.

The festival is scheduled to run from 10:00am to 5:00pm. The musical performances will take the stage near the end of the event, starting at 3:15pm.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Japanese films at NYAFF
Tue, May 20, 2008 (3:15am EDT)

The New York Asian Film Festival 2008 has sent out a press release with its lineup of films, though a few more are still to be announced. Currently, the Japanese films being screened are:

    * "Sweet Rain: Shinigami no Seido" ("Accuracy of Death") - Masaya Kakehi
    * "Adrift in Tokyo" - Miki Satoshi
    * "Always: Zoku Sanchome no Yuhi" - Takashi Yamazaki
    * "Dainipponjin" - Hitoshi Matsumoto
    * "Sidecar ni Inu" - Kichitaro Negishi
    * "Zenzen Daijoubu" ("Fine, Totally Fine") - Yosuke Fujita
    * "L change the WorLd" - Hideo Nakata
    * "Sad Vacation" - Shinji Aoyama
    * "Sukiyaki Western Django" - Takashi Miike
    * "Oretachi no Sekai" ("This World of Ours") - Ryo Nakajima
    * "United Red Army" - Koji Wakamatsu

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Model Oshikiri dating Giants pitcher
Tue, May 20, 2008 (12:45am EDT)



Popular model Moe Oshikiri (28) is off the market, it was learned on Monday. Sankei Sports has broken the news that she has been in a relationship with Yomiuri Giants pitcher Takahiko Nomaguchi (24) for most of the past three years.

According to the newspaper's source, the pair first met in the fall of 2004 during the birthday party of a mutual friend. They continued to hang out as part of a group of friends, and it gradually developed into a serious relationship through various encounters, such as when Nomaguchi visited Oshikiri after she had been hospitalized for a fractured bone.

The couple began seriously dating in 2005. They broke up around last spring, but they got back together in the fall. Despite their busy schedules and their focus on their careers, they have managed to keep their romance alive.

Oshikiri's agency has confirmed the relationship.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Hirakawachi Icchome to disband
Tue, May 20, 2008 (2:32am EDT)



The folk music duo Hirakawachi Icchome have announced that they are disbanding after they complete their final concert tour in August. The two brothers, Ryunosuke and Naojiro Hayashi, said that they began talking about it a year ago, and they decided to separately search for their own futures.

Originally from the island of Sadogashima in the Niigata Prefecture, the pair made their debut as middle schoolers in 2003. At the time, they weren't really aspiring for musical fame. Ryunosuke revealed that they have three other siblings, though their mother had run away from home with their youngest brother. By starting Hirakawachi Icchome, the duo had hoped to find their mother and brother.

They recalled that playing their music had been sad and painful at first, but with the support of their fans they eventually grew to enjoy it. As of now, their family has been reunited.

The younger Naojiro, who made his solo debut last year, has entered his last year of high school and says he is studying hard with the goal of entering university like his friends. He mentioned that if he does go on to higher education, he plans to do so in Tokyo. For now, he is also continuing an acting career, with an appearance in Isshin Inudo's "Gou-Gou Datte Neko Dearu," which stars Kyoko Koizumi and opens on September 6.

Meanwhile, Ryunosuke has already started living by himself in Tokyo, and he says that one of his dreams is to open up a restaurant.

Hirakawachi Icchome's last tour will start on July 29 in Shizuoka and end in Tokyo on August 23. On July 30, they plan to release two works: a single titled "Tokyo 2008" (presumably a new version of their debut single "Tokyo") and a tentatively self-titled best album.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Actress Suzuki An (21) has returned from her two-month English study trip to New York. Though she says she was reluctant to leave the Big Apple, she is looking forward to her next job. She will begin rehearsals for the stage production "Sisters," starring Matsu Takako (30), which runs for a month in Tokyo from July 5.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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Actor Mizutani Yutaka (55) is reviving his long-dormant singing career. A familiar face in detective dramas for several decades, he had a string of more than a dozen singles from the late 1970s but hasn't released an original album since "Simple Man" in 1986. He gave a mini concert at a shopping mall in Kawasaki yesterday to promote "Time Capsule," a new album of self-covers that was released last week. At one time married to American actress Miki MacKenzie, he is currently married to actress Ito Ran, a former member of the 1970's idol group Candies. They have one daughter.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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ELLEGARDEN to release best album before going on break
Tue, May 20, 2008 (10:47am EDT)



Earlier this month, rock band ELLEGARDEN announced that they are going on hiatus later this year. Before they do, they will release a best album titled "ELLEGARDEN BEST" on July 2, featuring 21 songs from throughout their decade-long career.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

JAM Project going to Mexico
Tue, May 20, 2008 (10:51am EDT)



Anime music supergroup JAM Project has scheduled a performance at the Expo Manga Comic TNT 16 in Mexico City. The convention is being held on October 16-19.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

SCANDAL invited to Japan Expo
Tue, May 20, 2008 (10:55am EDT)



The female pop-rock band SCANDAL has been invited as a musical guest to this year's Japan Expo in Paris. This will be the group's first European performance.

Japan Expo is being held on July 3-6.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Comedian and talento Shimada Yoshichi (58) is to direct the latest movie adaptation of his best-selling autobiography "Saga no Gabai Baachan." He announced at a pre-production event yesterday that he has lined up a pair of top stars to appear in his directorial debut: talento Shimada Shinsuke (52) as his inspirational school teacher, and Miyazaki prefectural governor Higashikokubaru Hideo (50) as a post office worker. Both are close friends since the early 80s when they were among the pioneers of the manzai (stand up comedy) boom. In his heyday as one half of the manzai duo B&B, Yoshichi was said to earn over

whitedove

Actor Hosaka Naoki (40) is to appear on a live afternoon show today with the new love of his life. Hosaka, who was married to a Ginza hostess and later to actress Takaoka Saki (36), is now dating former talento Ishikawa Kanoko (29) and they will appear together on the NTV show "Houdou Miyaneya." Hosaka revealed last year that he lost both parents to suicide when he was just seven years old.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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TBS announced yesterday that they are to air a TV drama adaptation of last autumn's hit movie "Koizora." They are currently auditioning for the lead roles played by Aragaki Yui (19) and Miura Haruma (18), whose careers got a huge boost from the movie's success. It made over

whitedove

L'Arc to rest until 2011?
Wed, May 21, 2008 (12:47am EDT)



Rock band L'Arc~en~Ciel is still in the middle of an international tour that started in April and ends next month, but reports have emerged that they won't be performing again until 2011.

The speculation was born from a newspaper ad that mentioned the group's new single this summer and a concert titled "2011 NEXT LIVE 20th L'Anniversary Live." Since the show is scheduled for the band's big anniversary three years from now, the word "next" appears to suggest that fans may not hear from them for a long time. However, even if their next concert isn't until 2011, it doesn't necessarily mean that they won't be active as a band.

Some believe that the members of L'Arc plan to use the three years to work on their own solo projects, but nothing official has been stated by the band or their management so far.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Yonekura to play lawyer in "Monster Parent"
Wed, May 21, 2008 (1:04am EDT)



Actress Ryoko Yonekura will play a lawyer for the first time in a Fuji TV drama series called "Monster Parent." The title comes from a term referring to parents who selfishly make unreasonable demands of their children's schools and teachers.

In the drama, Yonekura is a lawyer dispatched to the board of education to resolve problems between schools and the so-called "monster parents." Her character is intelligent and fashionable, but she struggles with the assignment as her expertise is originally in business law.



The supporting cast includes Yuta Hiraoka (as one of her allies) and Kuranosuke Sasaki (as her opposition). The show will air on Tuesdays at 10:00pm, starting on July 1.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

[ Last edited by  whitedove at 25-5-2008 03:49 PM ]

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Takayuki Yamada, Yu Kashii confirmed for "252" cast
Wed, May 21, 2008 (1:21am EDT)

Nobuo Mizuta's disaster flick "252: Seizonsha Ari" (announced in February) let out its first preview during the film market at the currently running Cannes Film Festival.

Producers screened a 5-minute trailer of the movie, in which Tokyo faces a string of natural disasters that results in areas of the city being submerged. Buyers reportedly displayed high interest in the film, especially in the wake of recent disasters in Myanmar and China.



Hideaki Ito and Masaaki Uchino have already been announced as the movie's co-stars, but the trailer confirmed that Takayuki Yamada and Yu Kashii have also been cast.



"252" opens in Japan on December 6.

Source: www.tokyograph.com