Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part II]

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Anna Tsuchiya's ex-husband dies
Sat, May 24, 2008 (2:31am EDT)



Sponichi Annex is reporting that the former husband of model/actress/singer Anna Tsuchiya has passed away at the age of 25, though no details about his death are known at the moment.

Tsuchiya, 24, married a model known as Joshua in June 2004. They had met through their modeling careers when they were both in high school. Shortly after their marriage, Tsuchiya gave birth to a son, but they later divorced in 2006.

Born in the U.S., Joshua was the younger brother of talento Friedia, who was previously known by her old stage name Rin Kozue.

A source said that Joshua died at the start of this week. A private funeral is being held, and more details, such as the cause of death, are expected to be revealed next week.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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[J-POP] Sexy songstress shows she has more than just a great set of lungs



In the latest Wai Wai, 揫b]Nana Tanimura may have her knockers, but the G-cup law student with an artistic bent is out to prove her new way of rising to the top has been no booby, according to Sunday Mainichi (6/1).

ct_subang

G-CUP???

x nmpk selambak pon??

whitedove

wahaha!

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"Tokyo Sonata" picks up prize at Cannes
Sun, May 25, 2008 (8:12pm EDT)



Kiyoshi Kurosawa's new film, "Tokyo Sonata," won the jury prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, which ended on Sunday. The movie, which stars Teruyuki Kagawa and Kyoko Koizumi, is the first from Japan to receive that honor.

Kurosawa previously won the FIPRESCI Award at Cannes in 2001 with his horror film "Kairo" (also known as "Pulse").

"Tokyo Sonata" opens in Japan this fall.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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SHOGUN keyboardist dies at 61
Sun, May 25, 2008 (8:49pm EDT)

Musician Kazuo Otani died last week at the age of 61, it was announced on Sunday.

The news of his death was posted on the website of famed rock band SHOGUN. Otani was the keyboardist for the group, which he formed in 1978 along with Fujimaru Yoshino and Michio Nagaoka. Two of their best-known hits are "BAD CITY" and "Otokotachi no Melody."

Otani passed away on May 18. The cause of his death was not revealed.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Yo Hitoto to perform at Budokan
Sun, May 25, 2008 (9:14pm EDT)



Singer Yo Hitoto opened a 26-concert tour on Friday with a performance in Kanagawa. During her encore, she announced that she has finally scheduled her first solo show at the Nippon Budokan, to take place on September 16.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Tackey & Tsubasa do short drama as bonus on next single
Sun, May 25, 2008 (9:49pm EDT)



Popular duo Tackey & Tsubasa are appearing together in a short drama tied in with their soon-to-be-released single "Koiuta" (on sale June 4). Many artists have previously made music videos that have elements of a television drama, but this will be the first time an actual drama is included with a song's release.

The 20-minute episode will use the love ballad "Koiuta" as its motif. Hideaki Takizawa takes on the role of an angel watching over a blind woman (played by Rinako Matsuoka), while Tsubasa Imai plays the woman's childhood friend. The drama will be included as a bonus with the first press edition of the single.

The last time the pair were in a drama together was in NHK's 2005 taiga drama "Yo#sune," which Takizawa starred in. Imai made a guest appearance on the show as a minor character.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Namie Amuro announces best album, tour
Mon, May 26, 2008 (7:02pm EDT)



Singer Namie Amuro will be releasing her third "best of" album on July 30. The collection, which is currently untitled, includes all 15 of her singles from "Wishing On The Same Star" in 2002 to "60s 70s 80s," which was just released in March.

In addition to the 15 singles, the album will have two more songs. One is "Sexy Girl," which is being used as the theme song to the NHK drama series "Otome no Punch" that starts on June 19. The other is a Vidal Sassoon commercial song titled "Do Me More."

The DVD edition for the album will contain music videos for all 17 tracks.

Amuro has also announced a major tour starting on October 25 at the Makuhari Messe. A total of 25 shows have been scheduled at 15 venues, with the finale set to take place in her native Okinawa on March 20, 2009.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Bishoujo Club's Shimizu, Nakamura co-star in action film
Mon, May 26, 2008 (7:23pm EDT)

Yuki Shimizu and Shizuka Nakamura, who are members of the idol group Bishoujo Club 31, have been chosen to co-star in their first action film. The movie is "The Masked Girl: Joshikosei wa Kaizo Ningen," directed and written by Isao Kaneko.

Shimizu plays a high schooler who happens to be an invincible "kaizo ningen" (modified human). Nakamura plays her friend and classmate. The two will face off against a villain known as Black Maria, played by Aiko Sato.



"The Masked Girl" opens in theaters in August.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Yuko Ogura's new boyfriend?
Mon, May 26, 2008 (7:46pm EDT)



Talento Yuko Ogura (24) has reportedly found a new boyfriend. According to the new issue of FLASH, she is now seeing 34-year-old Keiichi Kozuki, a real estate company president who is also an actor affiliated with Sides Entertainment.

The magazine says the two watched a Giants-Carp baseball game at Tokyo Dome on May 18. Afterwards, they met up with Giants pitcher Marc Kroon and others at a yakiniku restaurant. When asked about the relationship, Ogura apparently confirmed it.

Ogura's agency has not commented on the matter. There has also been no comment from the company or from Ogura about comedian Masaru Hamaguchi (of Yoiko), who was rumored to be in a relationship with the talento back in August 2006.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Saki Fukuda gets support from Oscarpro stars
Mon, May 26, 2008 (8:03pm EDT)



Oscar Promotion has announced that three of its top actresses will be providing support for young star Saki Fukuda by making guest appearances in her upcoming movie "Sakura no Sono."

The movie, first announced last year, is a remake of a 1990 film of the same name. Both are based on a manga by Akimi Yoshida about a group of high school girls who put on a performance of Anton Chekhov's play "The Cherry Orchard" (titled "Sakura no Sono" in Japanese). Shun Nakahara and Hiroaki Jinno, the director and writer of the first movie, are again in charge.

Fukuda is one of Oscar Promotion's top teen actresses, having recently landed the lead female role in next year's "Yatterman" movie. "Sakura no Sono" is her first starring movie role, and the company has arranged to have Ryoko Yonekura, Rei Kikukawa, and Aya Ueto to lend the movie some extra publicity.



Fukuda's character Momo starts out as a student of a violin teacher (Yonekura), but she later transfers to an elite school where Kikukawa plays her homeroom teacher. Ueto has been cast as the vocalist of one of Momo's favorite bands.

"Sakura no Sono" is scheduled for theatrical release in November.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Announcer Kawada commits suicide
Mon, May 26, 2008 (5:55pm EDT)



Former TBS announcer Ako Kawada was unexpectedly found dead on Monday morning after she apparently committed suicide. She was only 29 years old.

Kawada was discovered at around 6:15am inside a car parked on a coastal road in the Minato ward of Tokyo. The passerby who found her immediately called police. The cause of death is believed to be carbon monoxide poisoning from charcoal burned on a small grill placed on the back seat. The windows had been sealed from the inside with cellophane tape, and a message addressed to her family was left on the car's dashboard.

The car was found in a warehouse district several hundred meters away from Kawada's house. Eyewitnesses said they saw the car there between 9 and 10pm on Sunday night.

Her management agency said that her physical appearance had gotten worse early this month, but when asked about it, Kawada had said that she was fine. However, she was still advised to see a doctor. More than once, Kawada mentioned on her blog that she was in suffering, but the cause of her distress was never revealed.

Kawada joined TBS in 2002 but left the company and became a free announcer in March 2007. Most recently, she was a host of TV Asahi's wide show "Saturday Scramble."

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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[J-ENT] Fans wonder why the Southern All Stars are calling it quits



Japantoday.com reported, 揈ver since the legendary Japanese rock band Southern All Stars announced on May 19 that they will take a break from 2009, suspending the group抯 30-year career, fans have been wondering why.

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[Dorama] Kato Rosa campaigns for 揅HANGE擺/b]



JapanToday reported, 揂ctress Rosa Kato, 22, on Sunday campaigned for Fuji TV抯 Monday night drama 揅HANGE擺/b] in which she co-stars with SMAP heartthrob Takuya Kimura, 35, who plays a school teacher-turned prime minister.

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Charts: Superfly still on top, Hey! Say! JUMP continues Johnny's streak
Wed, May 28, 2008 (2:49am EDT)



On the album charts this week, Superfly's debut album held on to the #1 spot with more than 76,000 in sales, beating out a handful of challengers in the top 10, including new albums by Kiyoshi Hikawa, Acid Black Cherry, Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, Nightmare, Fumiya Fujii, and Rina Aiuchi.

Meanwhile, Southern All Stars fans reacted to news of the group's hiatus by picking up their albums, sending their last two "greatest hits" collections up the charts. Both "Umi no Yeah!!" (1998) and "Ballad 3 ~the album of LOVE~" (2000) were well outside the Top 300 last week, but they respectively ranked at #50 and #74 this week.



In singles, Hey! Say! JUMP's new song "Dreams come true" overwhelmed the competition with 181,000 in sales, keeping Johnny's Jimusho at the top for the third straight week (following NEWS and KAT-TUN). This is Hey! Say! JUMP's second #1 single.

Hikaru Utada's "Prisoner of Love" went on sale at #2. It only sold 39,000 copies, but it has been doing well as a ringtone and has been available for two months as part of Utada's "HEART STATION" (which is still at #7 on the albums chart). Ai Otsuka reached #4, selling 30,000 copies of her double A-side "Rocket Sneaker / One x Time."

Mariya Takeuchi, The Cro-Magnons, and Micro also entered the Top 10 with their new releases.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Miho Kanno narrates panda documentary
Tue, May 27, 2008 (2:08am EDT)



Actress Miho Kanno is doing her first narration role for "Pandaful Life, Japan's first documentary film about pandas.

The documentary takes place at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama, and in Sichuan, China. It was shot over the span of a year, wrapping up in Sichuan just a month before a major earthquake devastated the area a couple weeks ago.

The main focus is the famous panda Mei Mei and her twin children, Ryuhin and Shuhin, who returned to China late last year.

"Pandaful Life" opens in Japan on August 30 and is preparing for release in China.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Oricon: manga as a model for love
Tue, May 27, 2008 (2:20am EDT)

Oricon conducted a small survey of 300 women in their teens and 20s, asking them, "which manga do you think serves as a model for love?"



The top answer was Ai Yazawa's "NANA," chosen by many for its portrayal of various types of love relationships. Others preferred the #2-ranked "Kimi ni Todoke" by Karuho Shiina, saying that they liked the "pure" love story and that it inspired them to be more courageous.

"Hana Yori Dango" tied for #3 with "Lovely Complex." "Tenshi Nanka Janai," an older comic also by Yazawa, was voted #5.

Manga as a model for love:

1) NANA
2) Kimi ni Todoke
3) Hana Yori Dango
3) Lovely Complex (tie)
5) Tenshi Nanka Janai

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Sumire Haruno plans new projects
Tue, May 27, 2008 (2:33am EDT)



Former Takarazuka top star Sumire Haruno is making her return to show business this September with concerts in Tokyo and Osaka. Haruno left the Takarazuka troupe last December.

The concerts will feature music from her Takarazuka days, as well as new songs to mark the new stage of her career. She will perform at Tokyo's Aoyama Gekijo from September 3-9 before moving to Osaka's Umeda Arts Theater on September 13-16.

Haruno has also announced a dinner show at the end of this year and a starring role in a major overseas musical next year. She also plans to start releasing CDs in the future.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Hollywood to possibly remake "Kansen Retto"
Tue, May 27, 2008 (1:31am EDT)

"Kansen Retto," a new film directed and written by Takahisa Zeze about a pandemic virus, is being picked up for a Hollywood remake even before the movie's completion. Zeze's film was announced in February and started shooting in March, but it won't be ready for release until next January. According to the production team at TBS, the remake contract has already reached the final stage of negotiations.



"Kansen Retto" stars Satoshi Tsumabuki as a doctor fighting against the outbreak of an unknown virus and Rei Dan as an officer of the World Health Organization. It was exhibited at the film market of the Cannes Film Festival, and the promotional materials attracted the attention of buyers even though no footage was shown at the event.

Because the contract has not been finalized, further details have not yet been released, including the name of the studio that is trying to do the remake.

Zeze's version is still in the process of shooting until mid-June, though Dan and actor Koichi Sato have already finished their scenes. Filming locations include the Philippines. Producers are aiming to have a final cut by November.

Source: www.tokyograph.com